Love In The Dark
by KlutzyDoraLupin
Summary: With the War raging on and bounties on their heads, they found solace in one another. They were an unlikely pair and they never expected to fall in love so deeply. Merlin knew this wouldn't end well.
1. Prologue

Death was inevitable.

From the moment you're born, you're destined to die.

You are going to die in either minutes, hours, days, or years.

It's something you can't escape no matter what precautions you take.

No matter how carefully planned every moment of your life is.

No matter what you have planned.

Death is imminent.

Even those who fight to achieve immortality eventually meet their own sticky demise.

It's inescapable.

Everyone knew this.

Hermione Granger knew all of this.

She knew that her death was as unavoidable as the sun rising.

She knew that at any given moment, something could happen that would cause her heart to stop its beating.

There was a War raging on and it had been present for the majority of her childhood.

She was long since resigned to the fact that she may not survive past her 21st birthday.

So many people before her had died at that age or younger.

From her best friend's parents to so many of her friends that she'd lost in the many battles she fought.

But as the dagger currently imbedded in her stomach sunk in deeper, she felt shocked and cheated.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Not yet.

Not like this.

She had thought she had more time.

All their plans centered on time.

And she was out of it.

 _They_ were out of time.

She could feel it all slipping away as the blade severed more of her flesh and thick crimson blood seeped out of her rapidly.

She was shocked at how painful it was and disgusted by the vile person responsible for her gaping wound.

Draco Malfoy wasn't one to show his emotions.

He never wanted to be perceived as that man that wore his heart on his sleeve.

Those type of men were usually the ones that were hurt the most.

Ron Weasley was a prime example.

But in that moment, as he watched her life slowly slip away, tears streamed from his eyes.

Her legs buckled and he snaked his left arm around her to support her weight like he'd done so many times before.

This time she wasn't scoffing and telling him that she could walk on her own.

This time, her head fell forward and rested on his shoulder as she desperately gasped for air.

The strangled sounds tore at him like razor blades.

He was helpless.

There was nothing he could do to save her.

The one thing he was supposed to do and he had failed.

His one and only job was to be her protector - he swore to her and to those that loved her almost as much as he did that he would never let anything happen to her - and she was dying right in front of him.

Holding her close, he felt her trembling and wished to every deity he could think of to let them trade places.

Let him take the blade in his gut.

Let him be in pain with collapsing lungs.

Let it be _him_ that dies in her arms.

He was selfish.

He would rather put this heartache with her than suffer the loss of her.

He had watched so many cry for those they loved, those they watched slip away.

He watched people hold their loved ones and gaze into their empty eyes, begging for them to breathe again.

He never expected to be one of them.

He never planned on it.

He was _supposed_ to go first.

He was _prepared_ to go first.

But now...now he was the one being left behind.

 _She_ was leaving him.

 _She_ was targeted and as hard as he may, he could do nothing to stop her death.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused on fighting the pure evil that was causing this.

He tried and tried and _tried_ to free himself from the Imperius curse.

But he wasn't strong enough.

The voice - _his_ voice - whispered in his head to go deeper, make it hurt more, make her cry out in pain, watch her die.

He wanted so desperately to disobey.

But the caster was so powerful that he could only do as he was told.

He felt bile rise in his throat as he pushed the blade into her even further, causing her to gasp for air again.

He knew in that moment that that image of her would never leave him.

It was imprinted into his mind for eternity.

To torment him for years to come.

"I'm so sorry!" He sobbed while she slowly lifted her head to gaze into his eyes - one last time.

She bloody _smiled_ at him and reached up with a trembling hand to stroke the side of his face.

He wished he could close his eyes so he wouldn't remember her like this.

So he wouldn't remember the blood staining her teeth as it trickled out of her mouth and down her chin.

And it was all his fault.

He wasn't strong enough.

"It's o-okay...It's not...n-not your fault." She reassured him with shaky breaths. "It's _h-his."_

He wanted to argue.

He wanted to scream at her to just hold on and not leave him alone in this world.

He wanted to remind her of all the plans they had made together.

But he knew it would be a waste of their precious time.

They had mere seconds before they were separated in the most brutal way possible.

She was dying.

He was losing her.

And it was by his own hand.

"We'll... I k-know we'll...see e-each other...again, I promise..." She stuttered and gasped as her arm fell to her side. "I l-love you..."

Draco squeezed his eyes shut again from the sheer pain that her words caused him and shook his head in denial.

"This can't be happening!" He cried out. "Please don't do this!" He begged and leaned forward to kiss her - one last time.

For a brief and beautiful moment, she kissed him back with all the strength she had left.

"Finish her!" The booming voice sounded from behind them, obviously disgusted by their display, and the shout forced him to open his eyes and pull away from her.

She met his gaze with tired eyes.

There was no fear held in them anymore.

No pain.

Just love and he felt it stab him in the heart.

Her eyes began to flutter closed and she was becoming heavier in his arms.

"No." He choked out and watched her succumb to her injuries.

When she sighed her last breath, he felt his whole world collapse.

All he could do was sink to the ground, clutching her to his chest, and cry.


	2. Chapter 1

As the sun completed its ascent in the east, sounds of life began to break the peaceful silence that enveloped Hogwarts castle.

The birds began to sing their morning song as they soared over the grounds - keeping a safe distance from the Whomping Willow - and looked for food to feed their chicks.

Hagrid slowly made his way to the forest with a bucket of feed for the numerous creatures he housed. His deep voice could be heard cooing to his pets with a love usually reserved for a doting grandmother.

Professor McGonagall's heels could be heard clacking down the halls as she prepared the classrooms for her students and staff. A wistful smile graced her face as she passed the Quidditch trophy display case and glanced at her and James Potter's name plates.

Further down, near the kitchens, the House Elves were working hard to prepare the food for all the castle's residents. They took great pride in this, despite a certain Gryffindor girl thinking they were being forced to work. Many worked with smiles on their faces while a select few hummed to themselves.

In the four common rooms, students began filing into their bathrooms to prepare for the next school day. Girls were grumbling as they waited for their turn to use the showers while many boys settled for a simple Scouring Charm to clean themselves.

Down in the Slytherin common room, Draco Malfoy's housemates began to leave their dorms - each boy taking a turn to swear at the ungodly hour and whine about their respective hangovers.

While fixing his bed, Blaise Zabini noticed something off and made his way across the room.

His friend called for him to hurry up so they could go down for breakfast - as they always did - but he gestured for him to go on without him.

Theo Nott hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask what the hell he was playing at, but then thought better of it. He shrugged and rubbed his bleary eyes while shuffling his way out of the room. He was far too tired to truly care.

Blaise focused on Draco's sleeping form and frowned as he saw him trembling in his sleep. He looked to be in a great deal of pain. His clothes clung to him from the amount of sweat he was producing. It looked to be an awful night terror he was having.

Just as he was about to call out to him in an attempt to wake him, Pansy Parkinson ran into the room with a panicked look upon her face.

Before he could ask her what was wrong, she ran to Draco's bedside and began to shake him - oblivious to his state. "Draco! Draco, wake up! Hurry!" She yelled frantically.

Draco bolted upright in his bed, a broken sob tumbling out of him.

He had no idea why he was crying and why his heart was so heavy in his chest. He felt as if he should be in mourning. As if there was a part of _him_ that just died.

He felt as if he was in a fog and barely heard the shouts of someone trying to get his attention. A pair of hands gripped his shoulders and shook him once more and his blurred vision cleared enough for him to see that it was Pansy sitting beside him on the bed - her eyes full of concern.

"Are you okay? Why are you crying?" She asked in a horrified whisper.

It was only then that Draco realized he _was_ crying. He was gasping for air in between the sobs that continued to wrack his frame. A flush of shame went through him as Blaise walked up beside them and knelt next to the bed.

 _Bloody hell, why was he crying?!_

"I-I don't...know!" He whispered while trying to calm himself. The terror and pain caused by his nightmare was still so fresh - yet he still couldn't recall _why_ he felt this way. _What was his dream about?!_

Pansy looked over to Blaise with frightened eyes, but he only shrugged and shook his head in confusion. "Just breathe, mate. Whatever it was you dreamt, it's not real..."

Draco wanted to yell at him that he bloody well knew it wasn't real but the tightness in his chest and the lump in his throat saved his friend from his wrath. After several tense minutes and worried glances between the other two Slytherins, his cries quieted enough and he covered his face with his hands.

Pansy attempted to lighten the mood by moving the hands that were still gripping his shoulders to his wrists and pulling slightly. "No reason to be embarrassed now. We're your best friends, we've bloody seen you cry before."

Smirking, Blaise caught on to her train of thought and joined in. "Yeah, remember when you fell out of that tree in the gardens at Theo's? You blubbered like my mum at her third wedding, it took Dobby giving you three lollies for you to calm down."

With his tears finally ceasing, Draco allowed himself a minuscule smile as he dropped his hands into his lap. "It was four lollies, and I didn't blubber. I whined."

"There you are!" Pansy smiled. "Got me nervous there for a bit...What was that about?"

All he could do was shake his head, his eyes falling to his hands as he tried to remember. "I have no clue. It was...horrible. I know that. It almost feels as if someone just died, but I can't...It's one of those dreams that floats away as soon as you wake up."

"Well it was some dream." Blaise sighed and stood. "You were tossing a bit, that's why I stayed behind. I was going to wake you but Pans beat me to it."

Pansy bit her lip and let go of Draco's hands to cross her arms tightly. Her eyes averted from his and she acted as if his damp sheets were the most interesting thing in the world.

"If I remember what it was, I'll let you know..." Draco sighed while reaching for his wand to dry his sheets and himself. "Why are you here, Pans? For Blaise?"

She worried her lip between her teeth and nodded quickly, "Yeah...I mean- Well...Actually..." She paused and decided her thumbnail was better than her lip. The two young men watched her biting her nail with worried curiosity.

It wasn't like her to be nervous. She was the most confident witch in the whole school.

"Out with it, Sweetheart." Blaise sighed impatiently while reaching over to grasp her knee gently - the gesture not matching his tone.

Draco made a face, still not used to the fact that two of his closest friends were a couple and they assigned pet names for each other. The dating he didn't mind - it was the obnoxious snogging and nicknames that made him want to vomit. He didn't know how couples did it. Act like they were the most sappy people out there and displaying their attraction for all to see.

It just wasn't something he was used to.

His parents rarely ever expressed anything even _close_ to being in love with each other, in front of him at least. His father was always cold and indifferent to his mother. There was a mutual respect between them of course, but there was never any kisses, hugs, or even hand holding.

They were almost like professional roommates.

In public, she was on his arm and they would at the very least smile at each other for onlookers and cameras but the moment it was just them three...His father would pull his arm away from his mother as if she had burned him and walk to his study or his office and his mother would put a mask to hide the hurt that Draco always noticed.

He had asked her one night when he was about twelve, and still a curious boy, why her and Father never acted like the couples they saw on the street. And his mother had smiled softly with a sad glint in her eyes.

She had said, "Your father and I don't let a weakness like romance get in our way. He's an amazing man and I'll always admire him for that. But...your Father...doesn't enjoy my affections in that way. I learned that very early on."

He remembered being utterly confused and had asked her if they even loved each other and she had laughed softly and shook her head slowly. "You'll understand when you're older and marry Pansy Parkinson or one of the Greengrass girls. We are the kind of people that marry for specific reasons and most of the time affection just isn't one of them."

Again, he had been confused and didn't dare ask anything else on the subject. So whenever he saw a couple - be it his friends or the Weasel and his girlfriend - snogging in the halls or discreetly holding hands in class, he was _still_ confused and disgusted all at once. _Why would you willingly display such weakness for the whole world to see?_

Pansy's heavy sigh pulled him from his thoughts and he gazed at her with some annoyance. She looked as if she were battling herself. "I don't know how to say it."

"Say what?" He and Blaise grumbled together. Merlin's beard, if she didn't talk soon, Draco had half a mind to just shove her off the bed and let her fall onto her ass.

She flinched at their tone and began scratching the back of her neck, "Just...go downstairs. Daphne...Well...She received some news and it's really bad. It's terrible."

Draco's brows furrowed as he mulled over her words. He admitted that he didn't know the younger Greengrass that well, so Pansy's statement was more than a bit confusing. Why was she telling him? Daphne was dating Theo Nott for Salazar's sake!

Granted, Daphne Greengrass was the younger sister of the girl he was meant to marry - not that he had any say in the matter. But still, why should he care so much if _Daphne_ received bad news?

It wasn't as if he were close to his supposed future sister-in-law.

The marriage was being forced on him by his parents. They had decided it the day before his Father was sent to Azkaban. _"While I'm away, you need to be the man of the house, Draco. You'll be turning seventeen in a few short months and with that comes responsibilities. You will marry Astoria and take over the business until I return."_

He had smirked at his Father and asked if he was only meant to be married until his release and received quite the hex for his cheek. That had been two months ago and his Mother wrote him weekly to ask how his courtship with Astoria was going.

He wasn't sure what kind of bloody courtship they were meant to have while still attending _school_. But he never asked. He simply chose to gloss over those questions and instead tell her that his grades were impeccable and that his efforts at completing _the task_ were well underway.

She still persisted, and much to Draco's annoyance, provided tips and advice on how to properly woo the girl she demanded be her daughter-in-law. It wasn't that Astoria wasn't an amazing young woman...She was. He cared for her as a friend a great deal. He just didn't see the romantic appeal _personally_.

Astoria was a fine witch. She was impeccably beautiful and could be easily mistaken for a Veela. From her long blonde hair to her flawless skin to her slim figure and long legs.

She was the one every guy in their year ogled and drooled over. But it wasn't just her looks that made her attractive, she was also caring and quite funny if you took the time to actually have conversation with her. She'd crack a joke at the most random times when she was around someone she deemed too serious - and that was usually him - and had quite a passion for magical creatures and was one of few that actually enjoyed the half Giant's ridiculous classes.

She had sent him a rather scathing glare every time he laughed or mocked their professor when he was introducing or explaining one of the vile creatures he hoarded.

She would make a great partner to someone one day. But Draco knew in his heart that she wouldn't be _his._ He absolutely refused to marry her - whether they be seventeen or twenty-five.

He would gladly be her friend for years to come. But never her husband.

"Will you stop your brooding and just come downstairs? It's important you be there!" Pansy snapped at him while pushing herself off his bed to stalk out of the room. As she made her way down the stairs, she shouted. "Go take a quick shower and head downstairs! I mean it!"

Blaise chuckled and rubbed his palms against his knees to rid them of the nervous sweat. "I'll go see what's going on while you...clean up." He spoke with a bit of unease. "Whatever is going on must be something worthwhile."

Draco nodded and slowly pulled the sheets away from him to climb out of bed. The elusive nightmare was now plaguing his thoughts as he grabbed his things and made his way to the bathroom.

A part of him felt so incredibly sad and his chest felt tight from sobs that he suppressed. There was no reason for him to cry!

 _Then...What type of dream had caused such heartache to settle in to his very bones?_

He had no idea.

* * *

With a wave of his wand, his damp blond tresses dried in an instant.

He pulled one of his grey jumpers over his shoulders before going for his black trousers.

When he looked at his reflection, he realized that he looked like a ghost of himself.

Dark bags were under his eyes, making him look closer to death than Moaning Myrtle. His hair lost its shine and even his eyes lost their mischievous twinkle . His build was deteriorating - he was nearly as lanky as Neville fucking Longbottom.

And if his Father laid eyes on his posture - slouched so far that he was vaguely reminded of his maternal grandmother - he would hex and curse him until he stood straight and swallowed the pained sobs.

This whole thing was taking its toll on him. The damn _task_ that _Voldemort_ himself placed on his shoulders was more than he could take.

He would never admit that to anyone who may go tell _Him_ or his father of his weakness.

He couldn't truly confide in anyone.

His friends couldn't know what was to come - those were the orders.

He longed to sit with Pansy, Theo, and Blaise and tell them about what he was ordered to do. _Who_ he was ordered to do it to. How the very thought made him sick to his stomach and caused his appetite to completely disappear.

But he was isolated. He was forced to be completely alone in this. Not even his own Mother was allowed to sit and talk with him like she used to. All her letters to him about his wellbeing, requests to visit him, and _not_ about his courtship with Astoria - he hoped there were letters - were halted and more than likely burned before they could journey to him.

Voldemort only allowed the letters asking about tasks - his mother didn't even _know_ what was asked of him - and his future wife. Draco was sure of it.

It was torture. The cruelest torture he'd ever known. To bear all this on his young shoulders and be forced to wear a muzzle as well.

Of course, he knew there was a way to break all the chains binding him.

If he had any stones at all, he'd back out of the task. He'd back out of the entire thing. The entire organization could be behind him if he just confessed his feelings about it all. If he shouted from the rooftops that he had so many doubts and so much guilt, he would be free.

He could do it. He had the time to.

He knew it wasn't too late - the Dark Mark wasn't even marring his skin yet. The date for his _initiation_ had been postponed due to a row he had had with his Father.

 _Lucius had told him to be the best Death Eater that the Dark Lord had ever seen._

 _When he hesitated in giving his word, Lucius had called for the wand stowed in Draco's robes and sent an Unforgivable his way._

 _He recalled being full of rage at the fact that it was his own wand being used against him._

 _As thousands of invisible slices tore at him, Draco fell to his knees but bit his tongue. He learned that crying out in pain was a sign of weakness and he dare not look weak now._

 _When the curse lifted, Lucius demanded that he swear to please Voldemort in any way._

 _Draco visibly shuddered at the thought. Merlin only knew what Voldemort had planned in his head. He hesitated again._

 _He was punished until he had rasped out his oath._

 _His father had been pleased and offered his wand back to him. He had taken it with shaky hands._

 _The smirk on his father's face flickered with pride as he said he would do wonderful things under the Dark Lord's control._

 _It was as if the torture had been a figment of Draco's imagination._

 _All Draco could do was nod before it was time for him to leave. The encounter still upset him and sent pain shooting through him._

He had been terrified into submission. Forced. And now he wanted out. He wanted no part in it anymore. The stress was too debilitating.

It would be so easy to write a letter to the Dark Lord himself. Let an owl perch near him and offer the letter that would tell him to piss off and take care of his business by himself.

He smirked with pleasure at the thought of uttering those words. Of being free from this whole thing.

With a pained sigh, he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He could never do it. He wouldn't.

As much as he wished, he knew he couldn't take back the promise he swore to his father that day. The fear that had been instilled was far too great.

He could try and forget all he wanted. It didn't change the fact that if he hesitated again, it would be the death of his mother.

He had witnessed it himself when Pansy's father hesitated in agreeing to go after a group of Muggles.

 _From what he could gather, her father and his wife and several others were ordered to begin attacking Muggles in various locations._

 _This particular group had been deemed too innocent to Pansy's father - children and elderly. He had said as much as the others stared at him incredulously._

 _"My Lord...These Muggles all seem to be either far too young or old to even comprehend their surroundings..." He had whispered._

 _Voldemort had gotten so irate that Draco feared for his own life as he sat at the long table and watched what transpired._

 _Pansy, who was sitting between himself and Blaise, had bit her tongue enough to make it bleed as they all witnessed her mother being tortured._

 _Her screams had echoed off the dank walls and her pleas and apologies on her husband's behalf gargled in between coughs of blood._

 _Draco would never forget how pale Pansy had become. Nor would he ever forget the curious surge of envy that coursed through him when Blaise stealthily reached over and grasped her hand - offering his support as best he could._

 _When Voldemort dropped his wand and stared at the mangled corpse of Edith Parkinson, he turned to her husband and sneered._

 _"This is what happens to anyone who dare attempt to disobey my orders." He remembered being bewildered at that._

 _Edith had been prepared to follow him, to obey every word he uttered. Why was she killed then?_

 _"If you are against me, I will happily kill the person you love the most."_

 _Oh. He had thought. Well that makes sense._

 _Pansy's ragged breathing and Giles Parkinson's grief stricken sobs were all that broke the eerie silence._

 _"Now...I ask you. Are you prepared to attack these Muggles?" Voldemort had asked the group he had addressed earlier._

 _Giles had nodded with the rest, his eyes settled on his daughter who would not meet his gaze._

 _Draco had understood what the look meant. It had made his blood run cold. Giles would now do anything asked of him for the sake of his daughter. He was forced by fear._

Just as he was.

He wouldn't subject his mother to the torture Pansy's had endured. He knew that he would just have to stomach it all, complete the orders, and pray that he'd die in the process.

As he grabbed his wand from the counter, he brought his gaze to his reflection once more and deemed himself presentable enough.

With his limbs heavy, he made his way out of the bathroom and towards the common room.

As he neared, he could hear sobbing and hushed whispers and someone cooing in...comfort? He wasn't sure.

He stood outside the doorway, trying to assess what he was walking into when dainty hands grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him into the room.

Pansy was quite the spitfire and when she shoved him against the wall and pinned him there with her forearm to his throat, he felt a small surge of pride. He and Blaise had taught her this and many other moves after her mother's death.

He looked past her and noted the group of Slytherins huddled around one of the couches.

They seemed to be surrounding someone near the right corner of the black upholstery. It must've been Daphne - he recalled Pansy had mentioned _she_ received bad news.

"You listen to me. You will not be cruel. You will not yell at her." Pansy's steely voice forced him to gaze down at her. "And you _will_ explain everything to me whether you like it or not. Do you understand me, Draco?!" She demanded in a harsh whisper.

He had no idea what she was talking about but nodded anyway. "Fine, Pans! Now let me go!"

She stared at him for a few seconds longer, her stormy eyes debating something he did not know. She bit her lip then let her arm drop to her side.

"And remember that...it's not your fault." She said in an oddly soft tone. He was vaguely reminded of the words he had told her that night.

She had cried and somehow made it that her mother's death was her fault. If she had volunteered to go in her father's place, perhaps her mother wouldn't have died such a cruel death. And he had hugged her and told her that none of the torture nor death was her fault.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he realized the similarity between the words wasn't mere coincidence.

Someone had been hurt.

Someone had died.

He forced himself to nod and walk past her to the group of...mourners? Is that what they were? With every step, a different face popped into his mind's eye.

Who was it? Who's death could cause him to shoulder the blame?

It couldn't be Theo or Blaise. He had just seen them. Theo had been snoring when he fell asleep and Blaise had been there to witness his tears.

It was someone linked to them both...

As he thought of the one other person linking them both, he shook his head in denial. It couldn't possibly be true...

When he got close enough to bump shoulders with those offering comforting words, he grit his teeth and prayed that Pansy was just blowing smoke up his ass.

This had nothing to do with him. She just wanted in on the mission Voldemort bestowed upon him and was playing dirty to get the information.

This wasn't linked to him.

As the small crowd parted, he looked to Daphne Greengrass - sobbing and hugging her knees while Theo had his arms wrapped around her and speaking softly to her - and he knew. His heart dropped as her entire being confirmed it.

Astoria _._

Sensing his pained eyes on her, she turned in Theo's arms and her eyes instantly filled with hatred. " _You!"_ She rasped out. "How dare you even be here!"

He blinked away the sudden tears stinging his eyes and took a step back. A lump formed in his throat as realization and, surprisingly enough, grief struck him.

 _Astoria._

The word left his mouth before he even thought it through. " _How?"_ He whispered painfully. He needed to know how. And why.

Why was she killed? What had she done?

What had _he_ done?

Theo let go of the younger - the only - Greengrass sister and stood up. He was about to walk to Draco and lead him away when Daphne stood abruptly and marched over to Draco.

He noted pieces of parchment in her fists and she shoved them into his chest with all her strength. He would've winced if her hand hadn't immediately struck the left side of his face.

He should've been embarrassed, seeing as she knocked him about in front of most of their friends and housemates but all he felt was grief.

"READ THESE!" She screeched, her tears free-falling now, "He explains it ALL in GREAT DETAIL for the both of us!"

Numbly, he grasped at the letters she still held against him and felt sick at the thought of what was written.

Theo was suddenly standing behind her and grasping at her upper arms. "Sweetheart, come on. Let's sit down..." He looked up at him with apologies in his eyes.

It made Draco sick to his stomach. He didn't deserve sympathy or apology.

Daphne crumbled in front of them, the grief that was gripping him was tenfold for her.

She lost her sister. Her big sister. She was suddenly an only child and the guilt that crawled into his chest was too much to bear.

As his vision blurred and his sinuses burned, he mumbled an apology and practically ran out of the room.

He was dimly aware of Pansy and Blaise following him and shouting his name. He didn't care at this point.

He wanted to shout at them to leave him be. Maybe he did. He wasn't sure.

With a shaky hand, he looked down at the folded letters and wiped his eyes with the other. _He_ described it in detail, she had said.

Whatever it was needed to be detailed. What had he done? And to Astoria of all people.

A painful slice tore through to his heart as he thought of her name. Her face dancing around in his mind.

Her smile and then her icy glare. Her ridiculous jokes. Her laugh as she one upped him in class. Her everything had been extinguished.

Guilt and grief all mixed together and forced the lump in his throat to grow.

He hadn't wanted to marry her or father her children. But he cared for her. He truly did.

Not as much as he cared for Pansy. But still.

He never wanted to see her hurt or killed.

Yet she was dead and somehow Pansy guessed that he'd feel guilty. He already did feel guilty.

Somehow this was his fault. He knew it.

With two of his best friends on his heels, he ran at a speed he didn't know he possessed and turned corners, ignoring the other students glaring as he shoved them out of his way.

After he was sure he had lost his shadows, he looked at his surroundings and found his way into the girls' bathroom.

As luck would have it, even the ghost girl had left him in peace.

He made his way to the sinks and stared at his reflection.

He had changed so much in so little time. The bags under his eyes were now accented with red rimming his eyes.

Tear stains marred his cheeks while fresh droplets stayed at the corners of his eyes. His nose was red - damn his complexion - and his lips chapped from his biting them.

His chest was heaving with the effort to breathe. He was nearing hyperventilation as he shoved the sleeves up to his elbows. He felt suffocated.

He tore his eyes away from the mirror and dropped them to the letters in his hand. One was addressed to Daphne and the other to him.

Daphne's was opened, obviously, while his remained sealed. It must've been charmed for only him.

Dropping the opened letter, he tore open his and felt his skin crawl at the unnaturally neat handwriting of the Dark Lord.

 _Draco, my boy..._

The ridiculous term of endearment made his stomach churn.

 _I'm sure the young Daphne Greengrass has told you of the tragic death that transpired last night. It is a pity that your future wife met such a fate, I'm sure you can agree. I am sorry for your loss._

His throat burned as he read the paragraph a second time. Tragic? A pity? He knew the man was sadistic. But to go so far as to act like he didn't commit the act and then offer sympathy was _disgustingly evil._

He forced himself to continue reading the remaining paragraphs even though he just wanted to burn the letter and hide for the rest of his life.

 _I told her parents to call on her yesterday morning. After classes, she made her way home and I was waiting. I'm sure you're wondering why._

 _When I heard of your attempts to complete the task...when I was made aware of your_ _ **failures,**_ _I felt such disappointment. I was so sure that you would make me proud._

 _It seems to me that you just aren't_ _trying_ _hard enough to do what is asked of you. It's as if you_ _want_ _to fail. Cursed objects, Draco? Really? Poisoned brandy that was given to another professor? How stupid can you be?!_

Draco flinched as if Voldemort was in the room himself spitting the words at him.

Katie Bell had been injured because of him. It was meant to be the Headmaster that took hold of the cursed necklace but the girl was far too snoopy for her own good.

He had felt guilt for that. But also disdain for himself that the plan he thought flawless had failed.

Then the poisoned brandy. He had worked damn hard at perfecting the potion to mix with the alcohol. It was the perfect concoction.

But again! The messenger was just too nosy and Draco didn't learn from Katie and practically allowed Professor Slughorn to drink the poison and nearly die in the process.

He would never admit to it, but he was _glad_ that Potter and Weasley were there to help their Professor. They had saved him from having blood on his hands.

Or, they delayed the inevitable.

He should've known that he was to be punished for his mistakes. Just as Giles Parkinson had been.

But Voldemort had gotten it so wrong that it would've been laughable if not for Astoria's death.

She was not who he loved most.

Sure, she was his betrothed, but if anyone gave it even an ounce of thought they would know that Narcissa Malfoy is the one person he loved most in this world.

A part of him, a shameful part of him, was grateful for the Dark Lord's miscalculation. His mother was still alive. He wasn't experiencing Pansy's pain.

But it was still bloody painful to know Astoria was dead because of him.

With a headache forming behind his eyes, he looked back at the letter and continued reading.

 _Astoria's death was the only way I saw fit to get you on the right track. Enough silly plots that belong in disgusting Mudblood novels. Enough! Raise your wand like your father surely would if he had the freedom!_

 _If you try and fail again, I will go after someone else and make them scream just as I made Astoria._

Draco forced himself not to vomit all over the parchment. With a difficult swallow, he read the final passage.

 _Astoria screamed for mercy for hours before I delivered it. I brought the Cruciatus down on her for so long that every orifice leaked blood. I allowed your dear Aunt Bellatrix to carve_ _your_ _name into her arms and legs while Astoria begged for death._

 _Your aunt is quite talented with a blade._

 _When I finally grew bored, when every curse and hex in existence was used, when every part of Astoria was bruised and bleeding did I cast the Killing Curse and let her suffering end._

 _Bellatrix sent the young Daphne a nice picture to show you, my boy. Now you'll understand what happens when you fail me. I expect the mission to be completed by the end of term. You have six months. If you should fail again, I'll kill someone new._

 _Make me proud._

 _Lord Voldemort_

As he finished reading the sinister signature, he let the letter fall to the ground with him. His hands searching.

He knew it would only cause more pain and disgust. But Daphne had seen her sister in such a state. It was only right for him to suffer the sight as well.

It was his fault.

When he felt the cool feel of the picture against his skin, he grasped it and forced himself to open his eyes and look at her.

What he saw made his skin crawl, the contents of his stomach churn, and tears pour from his eyes.

 _Astoria..._

The beauty she had once held was gone. Her face was so badly bruised and bloodied that she didn't look like herself at all.

Her eyes lay staring and grey and her mouth open with a permanent scream. Her fingers were balled into fists and her arms and legs were so mangled that he was reminded of werewolf attacks he'd read about.

Her once white blouse was so bloodied that it was completely crimson and sticking to her skin.

There was no trace of the girl he cared for as a good friend. No signs of happiness or laughter or carefree innocence.

Everything that made Astoria the witch that she was was stripped from her, one curse at a time.

She was nothing but a mangled corpse. She was worse off than Edith Parkinson had been.

He felt the vomit clawing its way up his throat as he stared at his name carved into her limbs and even her neck.

They were savage. They tortured her when she did nothing. Absolutely nothing. It wasn't even her choice to be betrothed to him.

She had done nothing wrong.

He recalled her once telling him and Pansy in a drunken stupor that she wanted to take Daphne and go into hiding in Muggle America. She didn't believe in the blood purity spiel all their parents instilled in them.

She wanted the world for her and her sister to be safe. She had _apologized_ to him for not wanting to marry him either.

So many memories bombarded him and he dropped the horrifying picture and crawled to the nearest toilet.

He vomited until he felt the blood vessels in his eyes burst. He heaved so hard that his head hurt. Then he cried so hard that he felt that he'd never stop.

He cried for Astoria. For Daphne. And for the ones he still loved. For those he was sure the Dark Lord would kill when he inevitably failed again.

He choked on his sobs and tried so hard to calm his racing heart.

Unbeknownst to him, someone else hoped the bathroom could be a haven to cry in.

When the door slammed behind the newcomer, he turned around and his sobbing quieted ever so slightly.

When he realized who it was that was staring him down, he forgot to feel angry and disdainful.

He wiped his eyes and met the gaze of the newcomer with a glare.

 _This_ was all he needed right now.

Hermione _fucking_ Granger witnessing him falling apart.


	3. Chapter 2

While Draco Malfoy was crying in his dorms with his two best friends next to him, Hermione was feeling her own share of heartache while trying to eat her breakfast.

The annoyingly loving eyes of Lavender Brown wouldn't leave Ron Weasley's disgustingly stuffed face. She stared at him like he was God's gift to her and her alone. And all Ron was doing was shoveling more and more food into his already full mouth, some of it tumbling down his chin and onto the table.

It was something that always had and probably always would make Hermione sneer. She had no idea how Lavender could find him even remotely attractive in that moment - no amount of love could blind you to that horrid sight. But still, she wished she could be in the girl's place.

She could so easily imagine what she would be doing if she were. She would slap his arm down with his forkful of food - like she had done so many times before - and demand he finish chewing and swallowing what was already stuffed into his mouth. She would call him a disgusting pig and he would look at her like she was a madwoman. She would glare at him then hide her disgust with a small smile while he continued eating like a neanderthal.

As Lavender reached over with a napkin in hand to wipe crumbs off his lip, Hermione felt a childish urge to gag dramatically at the display. But a knife stabbed into her heart as she watched Ron lean into her hand with a smile. As much as it hurt her, she couldn't deny that he seemed to care for Lavender - maybe even love her.

When the morning owls flew in, she forced herself to look away from the couple and to all the mail they were dropping down. This used to be her favorite part of the day. For years, she loved watching all the owls fly around overhead and bring gifts or letters from home.

She used to feel so excited when her mum would send her a box of whatever she baked that day or when her dad would send her a letter detailing his findings on one of his hikes through the trails by their house. She sighed sadly as she thought of her parents and what they would do together - with another stab of sadness she reminded herself that those days were long gone.

When she looked back to Ron to see what he had gotten, she fought back tears to see him smiling with Lavender as they held up a scarf from Mrs. Weasley. The knife that had stayed piercing her heart dug in further when he placed the scarf around her shoulders and kissed the tip of her nose.

Hermione had the misfortune of overhearing Ron whisper with a smile "Mum made it for you." to a blushing Lavender who then proceeded to giggle like a hyena.

 _Honestly, it's not that romantic. Not like he knit the damn thing himself._ She thought bitterly.

She sniffed and her mail from the owl fell in front of her, splashing against her glass of juice because she didn't catch it. She cursed loud enough for the redhead a few seats away to hear.

Ron glanced over to her as she waved her wand to clean the mess. She met Ron's blank stare and her heart lurched when he nodded the tiniest bit in recognition before turning back to his girlfriend with the goofy smile back in place.

 _That's it? A nod?_ She thought as her heart broke a little bit more.

A lone tear traveled down her cheek as she realized that he would never look at her in the way he was looking at Lavender.

She had hoped that they would become something more when he had gotten so obviously jealous of her relationship with Krum. But then Viktor left the school and Ron suddenly became her friend again without speaking of those tense months.

But now? Now she didn't think they were even friends. They hadn't interacted in weeks - months even. Nothing except for that damn nod.

He didn't even smile at her anymore or try and speak with her. Not even a damn laugh. She would've gladly welcomed a laugh at her expense. Anything that told the world they had a connection. Anything that told _her_ she was still a part of his life.

But she only received a _nod_. A sodding nod.

 _What the hell?!_

She ground her teeth as the tears fizzled away to make room for her rage. _How dare he?!_

Nodding was something you did to acknowledge a first year! A stranger even! She never would've thought to bloody _nod_ at someone she spent years getting to know, someone she fought Death Eaters with, someone she considered a best friend.

As that anger and new wave of rejection set in, her eyes traveled back to Lavender. She wasn't even surprised that the girl met her glare with blazing eyes.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to jump the distance and slap the other girl as Lavender snaked a possessive arm around Ron's shoulder and smirked as if to say _'Haha. I win!'_

She squeezed her wand so tight that her knuckles went white and she felt a hex on the tip of her tongue. A flicker of anticipation licked up her spine as she envisioned the vile pimples that would grace Lavender's face in the next few seconds.

Before she could make Lavender break out or worse, her mother's words chose that second to drift through her head.

 _"Never act on anger. It may feel good at the time, but you'll regret every consequence after, dear."_

She had told her that when she came home with a swollen and fractured fist.

 _She was thirteen and she had swiftly delivered her first punch. She had chosen not to tell the mediwitch at Hogwarts that she assaulted a fellow student for fear of getting in trouble._

 _And Malfoy never said a word._

 _She had waited patiently to return home, nursing it with a bandage she stole from the shelves in the infirmary._

 _When her parents greeted her at the station, her father immediately took notice of her hand cradled against her chest._

 _He had smiled proudly while examining it and asked who the lucky recipient was while her mother clucked her tongue in disapproval, that lecture spilling from her._

 _She had wanted to tell her mother that she didn't regret the painful consequence at all. She rather felt proud to have it, but she respectfully held her tongue._

 _Her parents had opted to take her to her pediatrician before she was allowed to go home. She remembered rolling her eyes at their overreaction. It wasn't that bad._

 _Swollen? Yes. Throbbing? Oh, yes. Treatable at home? Definitely!_

 _But her mother insisted._

 _In conclusion, Draco Malfoy's bloody solid nose had caused a painful and swollen bruise on her knuckles and her pediatrician told her that she fractured a bone or two - while laughing of course._

 _He had asked her what made her hit this boy from school and she smirked and told him the simplified version "He's an outright git. I hate him and he hates me."_

 _When the doctor placed a cold compress on her injury before searching for a splint, he mused about how his wife hated him when they were in school and she distinctly remembered curling her lip in disgust._

 _She recalled telling the doctor that they must've been a special case because she'd rather die than ever come close to feeling anything but hate for Malfoy._

Things were so simple then.

Well, as simple as time traveling to save a man _and_ animal's lives could be.

She frowned at the memories and begrudgingly shoved her wand back into her robes. If her mother had been safely at home and...had she still been _her mom..._ maybe she would ignore her words. But she felt the urge to honor her - no matter how hard it was to _not_ hex Lavender.

Taking a deep and calming breath, she forced her angry gaze to leave the couple. She was _not_ going to be goaded by the witch. She was better than that. Her mother would've wanted her to be better than that.

As she snatched _The_ _Daily_ _Prophet_ from the table, she shook her head and wiped away the tear trail left on her cheek. Reading the day's headline, she suddenly felt ashamed for feeling such intense emotions over something that was so juvenile and trivial in the grand scheme of things.

 _ **DEATH EATER ATTACK TARGETS MUGGLES**_

People were dying and here she was crying over Ron not wanting her the way she wanted him and fighting the urge to harm his girlfriend. She felt ridiculous.

As she unfolded the paper to begin reading, she prayed that the city in Australia she left her parents in had been spared.

If they had been killed in a place she had deemed safe, she would never forgive herself.

She would never admit it to anyone - but she hoped that the attack was in London and far from where her parents were. _Anywhere but there._

The article said that it was Muggle London that had been attacked just as she shamefully hoped.

There had been dozens of casualties and the Muggles were calling it a tragic accident - a gas explosion.

They had no idea that they were targets. The Aurors or the Order most likely altered their memories.

Her shame doubled as she realized she was so relieved that her parents weren't there anymore. Another couple had replaced them...

The dentist's office that they worked at had been so close to the carnage that was sure that had they worked there still, they would've most likely been on that very street walking to work. They would've died along with all those others.

They probably knew most of the victims. She probably met a few of them through the years.

For a moment, she imagined what she would be doing in this moment. If they were still around. If she hadn't done what she had to.

She would've opened the paper and learned of their fate right here with her best friend snogging across from her and not once glancing her way. No one would've notified her because they were Muggles and how the hell would they find a witch daughter?

Then she was sure she would've started crying or screaming. Something that comes with shock and fear. She would've ran to Dumbledore with Harry and Ron behind her, promising to stay by her side.

She would've most likely been an orphan. Her parents would've died at the hands of the people she was fighting. They would've been gone forever.

When someone set a plate beside her, it pulled her from her fantasy and she felt slight relief that it was just in her head.

At least she knew they were alive...

"You saw?" A familiar voice from behind her sighed. She turned to meet her best friend's eyes and nodded.

"Harry, this is getting worse and worse..." She murmured while refolding the paper and throwing it on the tabletop. "I wish we could do something to help them. They have no idea what's happening."

Harry nodded in agreement and sat beside her. "I saw it when I woke up and wrote a letter to Remus about it. I want to do something more." He seemed to look thoughtful as he glanced at the paper. "Hey, don't your parents work near there? Are they okay?"

She cursed to herself at his observation and her palms began to sweat. She was never a good liar and Harry knew her best.

He had almost caught her lie during the holidays when she had let it slip that she had stayed within the castle while he stayed with the Weasleys.

 _He asked with confusion about her parents and where they were and why she hadn't been with them. A bloody cruise had been her answer. She had wanted to slap her hand against her forehead as the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think it through._

 _Hermione had waited for him to call her out on her obvious lie, but all he did was raise an eyebrow and think over her answer for a second too long._

 _Then he nodded, ignoring his suspicions, and she about collapsed in relief._

Now, she had to lie again and hope and pray that he believed her.

She looked to her plate and tried to look nonchalant while pushing her eggs around with her fork. "They're fine, thank Merlin. They're not in London." She didn't have to fake being relieved for that.

Harry watched her with suspicious eyes once again. He wanted to wait for her to continue but couldn't hold his tongue this time. "Oh, no?" He questioned with an edge to his voice, "Another cruise?"

Her stomach flipped nervously as she looked up to meet his eyes. He looked unimpressed and his brow was raised - like he was challenging her to come up with another ridiculous lie.

 _Well fuck._

"No..." She forced a small smile, "Lucky buggers traveled to the states."

With a slow nod, he pursed his lips and looked to his plate of food. She hoped he would let it go as she watched him stab his own eggs and shovel them into his mouth.

Hermione waited for a reply with bated breath and when she received none, she cautiously began picking at her food again.

Just as she was about to put a bit of toast in her mouth, Harry let his fork drop to the table with a clang and turned to face her with his jaw clenched in determination.

She quickly took a bite of her toast and grabbed her glass of juice, silently preparing for whatever it was he was about to say.

Maybe he was going to ask more questions about her parents - why they left again, why they didn't write, why they left work when they were as dedicated to their practice as she was to her schoolwork.

 _You can do this, Hermione. Just lie. Even if it's to Harry. It has to be done._

 _Just fucking lie, Granger._

 _They went away practicing being free bloody spirits - they fancied their pre-Hermione hippy days._

 _They don't want to be empty nesters and are getting an early start at traveling._

 _The trip and cruise were a bloody anniversary and birthday present from dad._

 _Just lie because their lives may depend on it._

 _You can do this._

"What is it, Harry?" She asked in what she hoped was innocent curiosity. "Merlin, you look like you're about to take on a bloody Death Eater without your wand in hand." She attempted a playful smirk before taking a sip from her glass.

He decided to ignore her quips and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. "Why are you lying to me? Where are your parents, Hermione?" He deadpanned and she very nearly choked on her pumpkin juice.

 _You can do this!_

"What are you talking about, Harry?" She asked and prayed he didn't notice the slight tremor in her hands as she set the glass back down. "I'm not lying...I told you, they're in America."

Harry scoffed and crossed his arms and she watched his nostrils flare even more so - a telltale sign that he was getting annoyed and trying to keep himself in check. "I may not be a Ravenclaw, but I'm not a bloody idiot. I know they didn't go on a damn cruise and I know they aren't driving around the U.S. for whatever reason you're about to come up with." He took a shaking deep breath and looked to Ron who was in his own world with Lavender. "Ron didn't notice shit when I mentioned it to him, but I remember things that contradict your story. You forget who you're talking to. I'm your best friend! I've known you since we were eleven years old!"

She fought the urge to look away from him - that would only confirm his suspicions - and forced herself to smirk at him, "Alright, Sherlock Holmes, would you like me to go get the pictures they sent me from the cruise? Or would you accuse me of tampering with them or conjuring them up?"

 _Don't call my bluff, Harry, please..._

He leaned close to her and let his voice drop to a whisper, "Your mother got sea sick when you three went to New York during your Christmas holiday three years ago. A bloody ferry made her sick up all over your favorite jeans and you were annoyed because the stain set before you could clean it using magic."

Her breath hitched as she cursed the fact that he was such an amazing friend that he remembered all of that. She stared into his green eyes and tried and failed to come up with a convincing lie or a suitable excuse. Dropping her eyes to their legs that were so close together, she sighed. "Oh, Harry..." She whispered and hated how her voice shook with her nerves.

In her peripheral vision, she barely took notice of Ron watching them with their heads leaning in so close. She reached out slowly to put her hand on his - which so happened to be resting on his knee - and struggled to think of what to say.

"I know you lied...So tell me why. Where are they? Are they safe? Did something happen to them? I've been trying to figure it out but I can't." He took her hand and squeezed it the way he always did when she was in distress. "Just tell me, why are you lying?" Harry started questioning in a tone that told her he was her most trusted friend - how wrong he was.

She began shaking her head and looked down at their joined hands and thought of the words to say. She wanted so desperately to confide in him. Harry had always been the one person she could tell anything to. He listened in a way that Ron and Ginny never could and he always had a way of knowing when she just needed a damn hug of support.

When she first cast the Memory charm on her parents, she wanted to run to him and cry her eyes out until the pain stopped. She wanted him to hold her and let her cry as he rubbed a comforting hand down her back like he did when Ron mistreated her in fourth year. She needed her best friend but her thoughts had traveled to a place she wished they didn't.

 _You're going to hate me._

"I can't tell you, Harry..." She spoke with a deep sadness that made her chest ache. "I would but..."

Harry looked confused and squeezed her hand again, "You know you can trust me with anything...Where are they?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, "No...Harry, I can't trust you...That's why I can't say anything. That's why I kept it from you. I'm sorry."

And as if someone flipped the switch, he pulled his hand out of her tight grasp as if she hit him with a hex. His breathing hitched and she opened her eyes to see the heartbreak slowly etch across his face. "What do you mean?"

"I can't...I don't trust you. I mean..." She began to nibble on her lower lip and quickly carried on as his jaw clenched in either anger or pain. "I want to. I have for so long, Harry, believe me. But... _He_ is in your head...I can't...Do you understand?"

Harry looked away from her and back down to her hand still held out to him, she could see the emotions warring in his eyes and slowly he reached out and grasped it. She sighed in relief and smiled gratefully while squeezing his this time.

"I understand...I think...You hid them somewhere, right?" He questioned and watched her nod with tears gathering in her eyes. "Okay, so...You don't want Voldemort to know where they are, so you won't tell me and risk him finding out." He surmised and she threw her arms around his neck.

It took him a moment to catch his breath, but he enveloped her in the hug too and sighed as she began to rant.

"I've wanted to tell you but I didn't know how to tell you half of it without hurting you or without you demanding to know where they were so we could eventually bring them back. I'm so sorry! It's been tearing me apart ever since. Every time I'm about to tell you absolutely everything, I remember how you saw Mr. Weasley being attacked or how he planted Sirius being tortured in your head." She spoke in a rush and if he hadn't closed his eyes to concentrate on her words, he would've missed the majority of them. "Then I get scared that he'll see where they are. That he'll take advantage of it and hurt them to get to me to get to you! Do you get that? I can't risk them or us. Or you. I can't risk you. I'm sorry."

Harry understood to a point but he was still hurt. "He can't really see into my head. I can only see into his, Hermione..."

She immediately started shaking her head and pulled away from him to look into his eyes. As brown met green, both were oblivious to the suddenly jealous blue eyes glaring at them from across the table watching their every move.

"No..." He almost smiled as her tone shifted into her 'I'm about to correct you, so hold onto your broomsticks' voice. "He knew your weakness was your godfather. He knew that the last piece of your family was your weakness and he used that to lure you out. He got into your head and saw what you cared about the most and that was Sirius." She reasoned while grasping his hands in hers and he hated that she had made sense. "Just know that...I'm sort of an...orphan? I think? They're not dead, but...They're not really my parents either. Just...As long as you don't ask for their location or anything too specific...I'll tell you."

Again, Harry understood to a point and he bit his lip for a moment before asking, "So, that's why you kept it a secret? Because I'd likely ask too many things that would put them at risk?"

When she nodded a little too enthusiastically, her hair fell into her eyes and Harry freed one of his hands to automatically push the stray curls away.

That was when someone from across the table scoffed loudly and caused the witch by his side to squeak in either disapproval or shock. As the two best friends turned away from each other to stare at the former third point to their seemingly broken trio, Ron suddenly stood and gave them a sneer that would make even Draco Malfoy proud.

Hermione flinched under his glare for just a moment before she remembered the bloody _nod_ he had given her and chose to lift her chin up defiantly. "What is your problem, Ronald? Too much _lavender_ perfume up your nose?" She growled and didn't miss the way Lavender gripped her fork just a bit tighter.

Harry followed the redhead's angry eyes and realized he was still holding Hermione's hands and their knees were far too close to be considered platonic. _Fuck_.

" _You_ are my problem, Hermione!" Ron shouted at her and Harry felt her hands start to vibrate in his and he wasn't sure if she was angry or about ready to cry. "You and my best friend playing footsie and acting like- like-"

As he stuttered, Hermione pulled her hands away from Harry's and bolted up from her seat and everyone within a ten foot radius could feel her magic bristling about her like static.

 _Angry,_ Harry thought to himself in slight panic, _She's very angry._

"Like? You and Lavender, perhaps?! Or Ginny and Dean?! Like _what_ , Ronald?! How _dare_ you try and act like my holding Harry's hand is any of your business!" Hermione shouted and she felt her hands start to tingle with angry bursts of magic and oh how she wished to have Ron within grabbing distance.

Lavender suddenly stood and puffed her chest out and Hermione was suddenly reminded of those blow fish her father always laughed at. "NO! How dare _you!?_ You don't yell at him! He doesn't like you hanging around his best friend like some- like a - he doesn't like you!" She faltered on her words and Hermione couldn't hold her laugh in anymore.

"She matches you quite well." She taunted while looking to Ron, "I can just _hear_ your little babbling babies."

Ron turned as red as his hair then, "You shut up!"

Harry then decided to stand and he put a hand on Hermione's and felt the static. He was hoping that he could calm her down before she made Ron into something that would remind him of Aunt Marge when he squeezed and she grasped his hand back almost defiantly. "Ron, don't talk to her like that. You're being a prat for no bloody reason!"

The redhead turned his rage from their once again joined hands to Harry's eyes, "No reason?! Bullshit! Look at you two!"

Before the buzzing witch could speak, Harry shouted back, "What?! What is so bad about whatever the hell it is you see?!" He raised their joined hands and Hermione was dimly aware of the other students and professors watching their display. "This?! My holding her hand?! Why would you care?!"

Ron ground his teeth so hard that Hermione could practically hear his teeth starting to crack under the pressure. Unbeknownst to the other two, Harry was trying desperately to get Ron to admit that he had feelings for Hermione that were far more intense than the puppy love he had for Lavender.

Before Ron could tell Harry anything, Lavender - who feared her boyfriend's answer would be something that would end their relationship - threw her hands in the air and screeched, "He _doesn't_ care about her! The only person that does is _you_! Just leave us alone!"

Hermione laughed incredulously at the girl, "Will you shut the hell up and let him speak for himself?! Obviously this bothers him for _some_ reason! So let him speak you insufferable bitch!"

Lavender's jaw dropped at being called such a horrible name and Harry almost laughed. _Almost._

Seeing the shocked and offended tears gathering in Lavender's eyes made Ron's rage nearly double and he looked at Hermione and she physically recoiled from the sheer loathing building in his eyes. "Lavender is right! I _don't_ fucking care about you! Go on Harry, be with her! I feel sorry for you being stuck with that annoying pain in the ass _bitch_!"

Several things happened at once: Harry shouted Ron's name reproachfully while Lavender laughed once in triumph upon seeing the expression on Hermione's face. The Great Hall was filled with a unanimous gasp as Ron's words echoed for everyone to hear.

Ron's eyes widened as soon as the words left his mouth and he looked immediately guilty but Hermione's pained expression lasted only a second when her own rage swelled in her chest and she felt her magical core burst out from her and she welcomed it.

Harry watched in shock as a wave of energy burst from Hermione and hit Ron and Lavender square in the chest. The rest of the students all watched in awe as the couple flew from their seats and landed flat on top of the Ravenclaw table sending food and drinks everywhere.

It was silent for a beat as everyone processed what had just happened. Then Lavender started crying in pain while Ron coughed in an effort to catch his breath. Hermione's eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had just done and the professors decided now was the best time to intervene.

Harry immediately dropped Hermione's hand and hopped over the bench to go check on his best friend. "Hermione, what the hell were you thinking?!" He shouted over his shoulder as he ran.

The other students all started whispering and staring at her with wide eyes - some from the Slytherin table were looking at her with unexpected admiration - and Hermione felt her cheeks flush as she saw the Headmaster approach her while McGonagall went to comfort a now sobbing Lavender.

Before she could be reprimanded, Hermione climbed over the bench and backed away from the scene of her shameful act. They would call it accidental magic due to high emotions but she knew what she was doing, she knew what she was feeling and embraced the building up and release of it. She had _wanted_ to hurt Ron for hurting her, _wanted_ to hurt Lavender for ruining her relationship with Ron. And now they were both hurt _physically_ because of her.

 _Merline, what have I done?!_

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled while Ron sat up with the help of Harry.

Luna, ever the light in the room, laughed out loud from Ron's right and pointed out to Neville that Ron had a mosaic type stain on his robes. Her giggles caused Neville to laugh as well as he put an arm around her waist. Their joined laughter - however rude and ill-timed it was - caused many others throughout the Hall to start laughing as well which only made Hermione feel even guiltier.

Harry looked at her and tears sprung to her eyes as she saw the anger there. But it was nothing compared to the contempt that was brewing in Ron's eyes. "You stay the hell away from me!" He growled at her before moving to help McGonagall with his upset girlfriend.

"My dear, perhaps we should talk about this somewhere else." Albus Dumbledore's voice floated to her and she flinched at his soft tone as if he struck her.

 _Why was he so nice?_

"I want her expelled!" Lavender cried out as Ron pulled pieces of toast and greasy bacon from her hair and robes. McGonagall pursed her lips and looked to Hermione with such disappointment that it rivaled her own mother's.

She shook her head and before anyone else could say anything, she turned and ran out of the Hall. She sobbed as she passed Dean and Ginny walking in - confused looks crossing their faces as a third year that had been tailing Hermione gave them the headline.

 _"Hermione Granger attacked Ron and Lavender!"_

Ginny immediately ran after Hermione and called out to her, "'Mione! What happened?!"

The sobbing witch was forced to stop running when her redheaded friend grasped her upper arm, "Hermione, tell me, what happened?" She asked softly, choosing to hear it from the horse's mouth before spitting hexes in her brother's defense.

"I-I got angry and...I'm sorry." Hermione cried, "He was so...He called me a...I didn't m-mean to hurl them away like that! I just - I wanted them to hurt too!"

Ginny's brow raised and she smirked, "Did you at least hurl Lavender into a window? I swear that girl is the most annoying person I've met. And I dated Colin Creevey my first year."

She wanted to laugh but just then Lavender and Ron passed her by with McGonagall studiously ignoring her presence. Ron glared at her like she was a bloody Death Eater that just attempted to kill his mum and Lavender slyly smirked at her like she had planned the whole thing.

Hermione felt her heart tear just a bit more in her chest and she mumbled to Ginny that she needed to go before running again. She so desperately wanted to speak to her parents, to cry into her father's chest and let him pat her hair to comfort her - somehow it always helped her. She wanted to lay under the stars with her mum and tell her everything that was weighing so heavy in her heart and listen intently to her wise words of advice.

She even wished that Ron looked at her like she was nothing again, at least then he didn't hate her. She wanted Harry to not be angry with her, she wanted McGonagall to at least lecture her instead of ignoring her like Professor Snape always does.

She wanted Dumbledore to abandon his always soft voice and kind words and just scream at her, tell her she was a horrible person for hurting her best friend like that. Shout at her to pack her trunk and turn in her damn wand. She wanted to be punished by the one wizard she respected like a grandfather. She knew she deserved it.

Ron's hateful eyes and parting words told her so.

She felt so completely alone as she sprinted down the halls, passing both students and professors alike. Each were confused as they watched the young witch who had fought against Voldemort's best Death Eaters crying in the halls.

The news hadn't touched this area of the castle yet.

A little third year that was ordered by her older sister to spread word would make sure that everyone knew what a horrible thing Hermione Granger did in an act of insane jealousy.

Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini looked at Hermione curiously - but still with worried frowns for their friend that they were still searching for - as she pushed them out of her way to get to the one room she knew no one else would walk into. To the one room she knew she could cry and scream and kick without anyone watching her.

Well the only person that would be there would be the ghost of Moaning Myrtle, but even she must have hated anyone else's sobbing. She would gladly stay away from her and let her work out her own mess.

" _'Excuse me'_ is a wonderful phrase! You should learn it sometime, Granger!" Pansy called out, ignoring the exasperated look from her boyfriend. "What? Pushing is rude." She mumbled as they kept walking in search of their blond friend.

Blaise's mumbled words carried down the hall as Hermione found the door she was looking for, "She's obviously upset about something, Pans. What is it with crying people today? Did I miss the announcement?"

Hermione chose to ignore their words as she sobbed again while shoving the door to the girl's bathroom away from her. The act reminded her suddenly of the first time Ron had broken her heart and she had ran to the bathroom to cry. Only this time, they both had hurt one another.

Shame coursed through her as she replayed the moments when Ron flew into the air and across such a distance to land on the table with such a thud that it made her bones ache. _Thank Merlin he hadn't landed on a knife!_

With a slam, she sealed the door and pressed her back against it for support. Her legs were shaking so badly that she let herself slide down the door and onto the ground. The cold stone giving her a shock as they met the exposed skin of her legs.

Sobs wracked her body and her eyes were so blurred from her tears that she didn't see the boy sitting across the room from her who was crying almost as hard as she was. She didn't even hear his ragged breathing and wet sobs as she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them like they were the only things keeping her from floating away.

Guilt, shame, and regret coursed through her and mixed with the already festering feelings of pain, loss, and loneliness.

"I can't believe I could've done something so horrible..." She whispered to herself in between dry sobs - her swollen eyes running out of tears. The guilt slowly ebbed as the pain came back in full force.

She whimpered as she recalled how quickly Harry had let her hand go and how much hatred Ron projected. His words had cut her deep. She had been called so many things before... But these words caused so much more pain that she had ever felt.

She'd been called a Mudblood by so many, an insufferable know-it-all by her grouchy professor, a spoiled little brat by her aunt, an abomination to the wizarding world by a particularly angry woman in Diagon Alley, even an annoying student by one of her Muggle teachers.

But never had she been called a bitch. And certainly not by the boy that she had loved for so many years. That's what made it so painful. She loved Ron with her whole heart and he had so easily spoken ill of her in front of so many people. It may have been in the heat of the moment. It may have been the painful truth but it hurt just the same.

She sniffed and shook her head, "He's right though...I know it. I'm the world's biggest bitch."

A voice from across the room startled her so violently that she thumped against the door in fright, "I can think of one person who is far more of a bitch than you, Granger."


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter because it was fun to write (albeit a bit hard. I didn't want to mess up their first encounter!)**

 **Just as a warning, this fic is going to be dark (like the prologue didn't tell you that lol) at times but I do plan on including fluff involving Draco and Hermione!**

 **I am so grateful for all the follows and favorites I've gotten so far! I would appreciate more reviews as well! They make me all happy and inspired to write more! If I know you're reading and enjoying it, I'll be all the more excited to update sooner!**

 **Also, I'd been trying to update weekly but as you can see, that schedule just isn't working for me. So I'm going to be aiming for a bi-weekly updating schedule, I hope that is to everyone's liking!  
**

 **Again, I hope you enjoy everything so far and I hope to see your thoughts soon :)**

* * *

Draco glared at the witch as she walked in and the forced anger in his eyes melted away as he saw the state she was in herself. Pureblood etiquette told him that he should stand and offer some form of comfort for her but he stopped when he reminded himself who the witch was and that he was in no better shape himself.

He settled back and watched the girl from his hidden spot in the cubicle while forcing himself to stop crying.

He watched as her sobs and ragged breathing - and his - slowly quieted down. He watched as she wiped her tears away furiously, leaving blotchy scratch marks on her cheeks and a strange feeling settled into his chest that he couldn't identify.

When she whispered to herself the first time, he had hoped that she would gather her bearings and leave before she noticed him. He didn't want to have to explain away his own swollen and red eyes and he didn't have the energy to get into a verbal spar with her.

But then she whispered again, a bit louder this time, that someone had been right. He assumed she was referring to either the Boy Wonder or the Weasel. She called herself a bitch and at that, he had to scoff.

Hermione Granger may have been annoying most of the time, but she wasn't a bitch. Not really. She could hold her own in an argument with him, she could certainly defend herself in a duel with powerful Death Eaters. She was kind to creatures that he had always seen as beneath them all. She was...just not a bitch.

Pansy could be an immense bitch most of the time, he was surprised that Blaise could handle her at all. But Granger was most certainly not a bitch.

He would later blame the grief and guilt that was consuming him - but before he could stop himself - he spoke in a voice that was hoarse from his retching and crying. "I can think of one person who is far more of a bitch than you, Granger."

If he wasn't so exhausted and upset, he would've laughed at how she threw herself back against the door. She gasped and her eyes widened in shock as she locked her gaze on him, "What the- Malfoy! What are y-you doing here?!"

He watched as she tried to stand but the shakiness in her legs hadn't gone away yet, either that or they had fallen asleep from her staying in the same position for so long. When she huffed and sat back down with her legs tucked underneath her, he forced himself to shrug.

"Same as you. Hiding away." He wanted to curse himself for not being snippy with her. His voice had come out so soft that he felt like a bloody Hufflepuff.

He should've told her it was none of her business and to get out of here - he should've done. But he was so tired of acting tough. So tired of being cruel to those he _knew_ didn't deserve it. So tired of acting like he didn't carry a great burden of guilt inside him and he certainly didn't want to add to it by making someone cry again.

Her brows knitted together and he could very easily imagine the wheels in her mind turning as she tried to figure this out. Her eyes wandered about his figure and then the room and he froze as her eyes strayed to the forgotten letters and photographs on the ground.

She parted her lips and began to play with the hem of her skirt, "...What are you hiding from?"

If he could, he would've looked to the sky and thanked Merlin himself for her not asking about the letters from The Dark Lord.

He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn't be able to lie his way out of it. In the years he'd known her - if you could call attending school and taunting her endlessly as knowing - she had proven to be a stubborn little thing.

If she had even the slightest inkling that he was lying, she would easily _Accio_ the parchment and see exactly what he wanted to hide. And Merlin knew that he didn't want that.

When she cleared her throat, he realized that he hadn't given her an answer just yet.

With a slight smirk, he looked up at her and countered, "What are _you_ hiding from? You were crying pretty hard." He hated how he sounded slightly muffled thanks to his stuffed nose, but she sounded just the same.

Hermione lifted her chin in an effort to appear like she could handle whatever it was he was about to throw at her and crossed her arms, "Why would you care?"

The voice in his head that sounded strangely like Lucius, told him he should tell her something rude. _He_ told him to just scream at her to keep her disgusting Mudblood nose out of his business.

But the part of him that was slowly becoming stronger and louder - the part of him that felt disgusted by everything that Voldemort had stood for - ignored the racist habits and shrugged in response. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He lied and acted like he had an answer. _He_ didn't even know why the hell he cared if she was crying and why.

Hermione pursed her lips as she thought of the fact that he hadn't said a cruel thing to her yet. It was a new record for the blond wizard. No _mudblood_ being thrown out to slap her in the face, no angry glares, no sneers. She would be lying if she said it wasn't a bit unsettling.

He looked up at her and raised his brow expectantly, "Are you gonna say why you were crying?"

It was then that she noticed he had been crying too. His pale face had red splotches that surely matched her own, his nose sounded stuffed and his eyes were blood shot. It was odd, seeing the evidence that he was just like her.

Something actually made Draco Malfoy, prince of arrogance and composure, cry just as hard as she did. A part of her wondered if it was a girl that hurt him, she almost laughed at the absurdity of that. "You'll hear about it all later today, trust me."

He could only nod slowly as he tried to think of the next thing to say.

"Why were _you_ crying? You didn't answer me before. It's only fair that you do since I answered you." She looked at him and crossed her arms tight as she waited for his answer.

Draco wanted to tell her that a friend of his was dead...was killed by Voldemort himself. He was sure that she would be able to understand that type of grief - he remembered catching her crying in the halls after Cedric Diggory had been murdered - but then again she hated him just as much as he had hated her kind.

She wasn't the right person to confide in. Again, he knew he had to sell this lie if she were to not ask a single question. Rather than mull over a good story, he said the first thing that popped into his head and hoped the half truth wouldn't alert her.

"I...had a bad dream..." He muttered and felt like a fool as she raised an eyebrow at him.

 _Why the hell didn't I just lie and say mum was sick or something? Bloody hell._

He waited for the taunting but was surprised to see her nod slowly. "I have those too sometimes." _When I sleep..._ "You know, it's rather surprising that we have that in common. You're...human..." She whispered wistfully with a faint smile.

At that, he had to smirk. "Sorry to disappoint, but the vampire Malfoy rumor isn't true."

She smiled, "I never believed that one. You being a werewolf seems much more plausible."

He hadn't heard that rumor before and laughed once, "Bloody hell, who said that? Trelawney?"

"No, it was Lav-..." As quickly as it appeared, her smile vanished as she thought of the girl. "Umm...It was Lav-Lavender Brown. Her crystal ball said it or something foolish like that."

Draco stared at her curiously and quirked a brow. He didn't like that the lightheartedness of their conversation was gone. "What was that?"

Hermione looked down at her fingers and started twiddling her thumbs, "What was what? I told you..."

"You stuttered." He smirked, "What is Lavender Brown to you?"

Her name sounded vaguely familiar. He never cared to memorize a Gryffindor's full name but he was sure he knew something of her. Had she tried to shag him? Hmm...

At his question, Hermione's lip curled in disgust and she scoffed. "She's nothing to me. She's a - she's -" His smirk widened as she blushed. She _was_ stuttering!

Taking a deep breath, she tried again, "She's nothing to me, per se. She's dating...a friend of mine, that's all."

"And you don't approve. Is she the one dating Weasley?"

"I didn't say that I don't!" She snapped and gave him a glare. But he could see the truth reflected in her eyes. "Lavender...is a...nice girl. Her and _Ron_ are very happy and I'-I'm glad for that."

He nodded slowly, not really believing her, "I am sure that's true."

"It is." She was desperate to change the subject as she caught on to the slight sarcasm in his voice.

Casting her eyes around the room to think of a new subject, she focused on the letters and photograph again and sighed. "What are those? If...If you don't mind my asking."

Draco controlled his reaction well. She never noticed his chest tighten in response or his hands shake slightly as the words written there played again in his head.

"They're...gifts from home." He forced his voice to remain calm, almost sounding bored.

If he wasn't mistaken, a mischievous smile formed and she giggled, "Your mum sends you photographs? Of your pet dog perhaps?"

He smiled slightly at the thought that they may return to the odd joking style of conversation they were having before. "More like our pet peacocks, but five points to Gryffindor for trying."

"Peacocks? Why peacocks?"

It was his turn to chuckle, "I'm not too sure. Some families have dogs or cats. Mine have peacocks."

"Peaaa- _cocks_." She blushed and looked down to hide her smile. "That's a very funny...and somewhat vulgar word."

Draco laughed a bit louder this time, "Are my ears deceiving me or is Hermione Granger, the princess of prudery, making a joke about pea _cocks_?"

She laughed again and he smiled as he realized the sound was quite beautiful. He ignored the nagging in the back of his head that told him that this was wrong and watched as her blush extended down her neck.

"I am _not_ a prude. I just don't go bloody gallivanting around the halls talking about everything like you do."

He crossed his arms and fought off his mirth, schooling his features to look somewhat menacing, "So you listen in on my conversations?"

She went quiet for a moment before her eyes grew wide and, if it were possible, her blush grew. "I-I most certainly do n-not!"

"You are such a bad liar!" His mask cracked and he laughed, "You would never make it in Slytherin!"

At that, she scoffed and smiled. "As if they'd have welcomed me. A Slytherin _Mudblood_? The shame!"

At that, Draco cringed. Now with everything going on - all that he'd seen and felt - he felt ashamed for the prejudices of his house and people.

She noticed his discomfort and cocked her head to the side curiously, "What is it?"

He looked her in the eye and sighed. "We are all fools then." He whispered to her. "To not accept you for something as trivial as your blood...You couldn't have controlled it."

Her breath hitched as the words and his eyes sent chills down her spine. His eyes shown nothing of malice or hatred, just genuine shame.

She had no idea but the words he had just whispered were once said to him during a particularly significant row and they hadn't left his mind since.

The words Astoria had screamed at him one day - when he had said one of their Muggleborn classmates deserved whatever Voldemort had planned - had struck a cord. She had made so much sense and he was so angry at her for it.

It took her a few seconds but she finally nodded slightly and smiled. "You're right, Malfoy...I couldn't control it. It's nice to know that you understand..."

He tried to smile back but failed. Looking at the witch in front of him, it was obvious that they could have been friends...maybe even more...if not for the prejudices that had been instilled in him since birth.

She was about to ask him when he started thinking like this when the door behind her opened slightly. As a result, she was shoved forward a bit before she got the sense to crawl away from it and turn around.

Draco audibly groaned when he saw Pansy pushing the door open and ruining the moment they were having.

"I told Blaise you'd be here." She smirked at him then looked to Hermione and her brows furrowed. "But neither of us bet on you having such...company."

Hermione sighed - _perhaps not everyone has changed their thinking -_ and stood up hastily. "I suppose that's my cue to leave."

Draco watched in confusion as Pansy raised her hands in mock defense when Hermione brushed her hands against her skirt. "Careful with those hands, Granger! I don't fancy flying across a room."

Hermione wanted to say something rude in response but the sudden onslaught of shame stopped her. She quickly walked past the raven haired witch to make her escape.

Draco looked at her retreating form and was glad he was. If he had looked anywhere else, he would've missed her turn around and smile at him in what he assumed was thanks before practically running away.

He looked down at the ground to hide a small smile from his best friend while picking up the letters and photograph. "What was that about?"

"What? The flying across the room remark?" Pansy questioned. When he nodded, she smiled. "Apparently, her and Weasley got into it and he called her a bitch. She got so angry that she used wandless magic to throw him and his girlfriend against a wall or something."

So _that's_ why she was crying.

"So it was Weasley...Idiot." Draco muttered and folded the letters quickly.

"According to Lavender Brown's little sister, she looked like a damn Death Eater when her dear sissy and Weasley flew." Pansy laughed. "I wish I had seen it!"

Draco made a face and looked up at her, "I doubt she did it on purpose to _him._ To his annoying girlfriend maybe, but I thought she carried a torch for the Weasel."

"Who knows? Once upon a time, I carried a torch for _you_."

They both made faces of disgust at the memory of their embarrassing snogfest.

Pansy looked behind her and saw people approaching and quickly walked further into the room. She sat beside her best friend - hiding her discomfort from sitting on the bathroom floor - and looked to the folded parchment in his hands.

"Are those the letters? From...from _him_?"

Draco nodded and when she reached for them, he yanked them away and put them in his pocket. "You shouldn't read it. It's horrible what they did to her." He whispered somberly.

She gulped and reached her hand out to hold his, "Let's go somewhere. We'll find Blaise and maybe Goyle or Crabbe and sneak off to Hogsmeade."

He wanted to object but staying in the castle meant facing Daphne or even Granger again. After what he whispered to her and the smile she gave him, he wasn't sure what would happen next with the two of them and he wasn't quite ready to find out.

"What do you say?" Pansy whispered with a smile, "We'll sneak into the Three Broomsticks and get drunk and forget about what happened."

After another moment's hesitation, Draco looked at her and nodded. "Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

Sneaking out had been exceptionally easy.

The halls were buzzing with talk of the _horrible_ Hermione Granger turning on her oldest and dearest friend and his poor Lavender Brown.

In the time it took them to locate Blaise and go to the main doors, Draco heard at least a dozen stories on the extent of Lavender's and Weasley's injuries.

One Hufflepuff girl from their year said that a fork stabbed her in the ass and Weasley had landed face first on a cake. A boy from Ravenclaw said that Weasley landed right on top of him and he probably saved the budding war hero from serious injury.

Draco never rolled his eyes so much in his life.

His head nearly split as a migraine took root thanks to a young witch - who must've had a crush on either Lavender or Weasley - shoving a long parchment in their faces demanding they sign the petition to rid the school of Hermione Granger.

Pansy thankfully told the little Gryffindor second year to piss off and she went scurrying up the stairs in fright.

As they crossed the threshold and paced across the grounds, Draco saw the Weasel himself standing near the Black Lake with the Boy Wonder not too far from him.

They both looked livid and Draco felt a surge of rage embed in his skin as he watched them shout at someone hidden from his view.

Pansy watched as well and whispered to Blaise so Draco wouldn't hear. "He looks fine for someone who had a fork dig into his ass."

"No, silly, that was Brown. Weasley got cake to the face. He probably loved it." Blaise whispered back and they both laughed quietly amongst themselves.

Draco was too preoccupied to ask what his friends were saying. He was too busy trying to discreetly figure out who it was being shouted at - he almost got a good look but the person shifted and was obscured by a tree now.

He distinctly heard the words _bitch_ and _hate you both_ coming from the Weasel. Then Potter began shouting something that Draco didn't understand.

Pansy gripped his upper arm and began dragging him along, "You are going to come with us and get drunk. No more hiding in bathrooms like a wee Hufflepuff."

"I wasn't hiding!" Draco snapped and fought the urge to yank his arm back.

Blaise turned to look at them and smirked while walking backwards, "Then what _were_ you doing in there? Hunting for dragons?"

Pansy shoved her boyfriend and huffed, "We both know you were crying in there and blaming yourself when you shouldn't have been."

"Shouldn't have been what? Crying or blaming?" Draco questioned while staring at the ground he was walking on.

"Blaming yourself of course." Blaise spoke with sudden seriousness while shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's healthy to cry, Malfoy."

 _For a Malfoy it isn't._ Draco wanted to say but Blaise's sharp look and sudden laughing towards something behind them stopped him.

"What are you laughing at?" Pansy questioned while turning to see what caught his eye.

Draco turned as well and saw the distant figures of Weasley, Potter, and Granger.

 _So that's who was getting yelled at._

"That looked like it bloody hurt!" Blaise called out and Draco saw the three Gryffindors turn to look at them.

From this distance, he could see that the two boys were livid - one holding his flaming jaw and the other glaring daggers at everything in sight while throwing up a middle finger in their direction.

"What did I miss?" Pansy asked in a whisper this time, watching the other witch with sudden interest.

"Granger just punched Weasley right on the jaw." Blaise guffawed which made the redhead even angrier than he already was.

Draco was shocked to discover that a strange sense of pride kicked in as he took note of Hermione's hands clenched in tight fists.

He remembered being on the receiving end of her punch well and he didn't have to imagine how much pain Weasley was in at the moment. The girl could knock out a centaur with her right hook.

"Should we help your new friend, Draco?" Pansy asked with a sly smile.

He considered it for a moment. He could see himself walking over and standing between her and the annoying redhead and his immortal companion. He would undoubtedly relish in the faces of his two childhood enemies as they watched that familiarity - however small their moment in the toilets had been - between himself and Granger.

But then he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could handle her own and didn't need him or anyone else intervening.

He shook his head as he and Pansy watched Hermione focus back on her friends and start yelling again, "No, she's got it."

Blaise's eyes widened and he looked between his best friend and girlfriend, "New friend? Wha the bloody hell did I miss?"

He smirked and was about to walk back the path that lead to the gates of Hogwarts but paused when Pansy's eyes narrowed dangerously and in a flash, she was pacing to the group of people the three of them had loved to terrorize.

"Babe..." Blaise said in warning and watched as she waved her hand out to silence him.

The two Slytherins exchanged nervous glances and then hurried to catch up to their spitfire of a companion. Her posture and the way she gripped her now brandished wand were telling - shit was about to hit the fan.

Draco looked at the group they were approaching and felt a surge of rage course through him as he watched Weasley grip Hermione's raised hand in a tight fist - his knuckles turning white - and shove her back. She lost her footing and was caught by Saint Potter and set right.

"Hey!" Pansy shouted and pointed her wand at the redhead, "I should've known your mother never told you it's ill bred to man handle a girl."

Hermione eyed the weapon in the brunette's hand with slight wariness and then she looked to Draco and her eyes widened a fraction. Draco's jaw tightened as she rubbed at her red wrist.

"Piss off, Parkinson!" Weasley barked at her and Harry reached out to his friend, making to grab at his arm but he was shaken off. "All of you, just piss off!"

Blaise smirked and crossed his arms, "I would be very careful of how you speak to my girl, Weasley. We don't want you being accidentally thrown into the lake and into the clutches of the giant squid this time, now would we?"

Pansy chuckled darkly, "Who says it'd be an accident?"

Hermione blushed and looked at Draco then back to Pansy, "I appreciate your help but I'm fine. We were only talking."

Draco couldn't hold in his scoff, "Granger, you can't expect us to believe that rubbish. We all saw the Weasel grab you."

Harry's jaw clenched, "Spare us the savior act, Malfoy."

"Now, we all know that's your specialty." Draco smirked. "Come on, Granger. Let's leave these fools to themselves."

Ron's ears turned bright red then as Pansy motioned for Hermione to step closer to the Slytherins, "Who would've thought the Death Eater wannabes would run to the aid of a filthy Mudblood."

Harry let out a harsh breath in shock and Hermione turned to look at the redhead with tears quickly building in her eyes and her lips parted in shock.

To add to her shock, Blaise's eyes darkened and - as he was the closest to him - he punched Weasley hard enough to knock him to the ground while Pansy shot a hex at him.

Draco wanted to punch him just the same but Hermione pushed past him and ran down the path to the gates, Harry looked like he wanted to follow but then - much to Draco's disgust - knelt down and tended to a groaning Weasley.

Pansy smirked as the hex she placed on him must have taken effect. Blaise watched as blood spilt from the cut on his lower lip, "Watch your language, Weasel. You don't know who's listening." He spoke with a menacing tone before he grasped Pansy's hand and began walking back to where they came from.

Draco felt the rage double as Ron made no move to look remorseful and Harry looked at Hermione's retreating form and rolled his eyes. He truly wanted to punch or kick them in her defense but he took a deep breath, turned around, and forced himself to walk away.

He didn't stop until he was beside his two friends and looked at them questioningly, "How is it fair you two got good hits in and I didn't?"

"Don't fret! I doubt your new friend would fancy the thought of you beating up her two best friends, no matter how shitty they are." Pansy smirked, "Now go play the hero and comfort her."

His brows furrowed, "What makes you think we're friends?"

She rolled her eyes then, "If you're gonna show your little softy side to a girl in a bathroom, be sure to put up a Silencing Charm or two."

Draco turned white as Blaise once again looked annoyed at being out of the loop, "What the _hell_ did I miss?!"

"I'll explain later, Darling." Pansy smiled and flashed her pearly whites.

He wanted to stay and ask her what the hell she heard and who she told. He wanted to beg her not to tell his father in case he would run and tell Voldemort and kill him. He wanted to get on his knees and beg that she not judge him too harshly or to try and sway her own opinions...but then he realized that they all had just heard Weasley use the damned slur. They _all_ had stood there and heard the word _Mudblood_ being thrown at Hermione Granger and he hadn't been alone in his rage.

Pansy had hexed Weasley so badly that he was still on the ground clutching his knees to his chest and Blaise had punched him so hard that his jaw was already swollen. If only he had gotten a hit and hex in...Weasley wouldn't have even been conscious.

"You...agree with me?" Draco asked quietly, already knowing the obvious answer.

At that, Pansy laughed, "Duh. Stori, Merlin rest her soul, didn't just open your bloody eyes Draco. Like you said, we got our good hits in. And it was for a damn good reason."

Blaise looked like he finally understood what was going on and grinned, "Oooh! He finally denounced that whole blood purity bullshit his father taught him, didn't he?!"

"Let's shout it to the whole damn world. Cast a _Sonorus_ why don't we? Send a bloody owl to The Dark Lord, too, while we're at it!" Draco spoke dryly as he looked around nervously. _Good, no one heard._

The pair rolled their eyes. "Anyways...Yes he did." Pansy smiled up at Blaise with pride, "About time, too. Now, Draco, I won't say it again. Go to your new friend and we'll take her with us to drink. She definitely needs it."

Draco looked back at Hermione and nodded before walking away from his two closest friends and made his way to the crying witch. His heart twinged - which confused him - when he saw her holding her stomach and crying almost as hard as she did in the bathroom not too long ago.

He watched Pansy and Blaise walk ahead of them while holding each other's hand as he walked to stand in front of Hermione. Pansy's encouraging smile did nothing but conjure a foreign set of butterflies to swarm in his gut.

A small part of him wondered if the Boy Wonder and the Weasel were watching, but a bigger part of him didn't give a shit. He reached out and touched her arm gently, "Granger..."

She hiccuped and choked on another sob, "I'm...I'm fine."

Drace felt an intense wave of guilt as he realized that he more than likely hurt her this way every time he had called her that foul word in their past, "No, you're not...Granger, he's an idiot."

"Ron never...He has never called me that before." She cried and, shocking them both, moved forward so she was in his arms, expecting some form of comfort.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, not having the faintest idea of what to do. He could count on one hand the amount of times he had hugged anyone - his mother, Pansy, and a cat that died when he was six - and only one of them was as upset as the girl sobbing in his arms now.

He recalled Pansy had cried so hard that he was afraid she was going to break apart and he had held her until Blaise could come and take his place. With a sigh, he slowly wrapped his arms around Hermione and rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. "It's okay...just let it out..."

She wrapped her own arms around him and clung to him as she cried in earnest, which caused another shock to go through him. He felt awkward for a fraction of a second before he relaxed in her arms and rested his chin on the top of her head, noting that she fit just perfectly there.

After a few minutes of her sobbing, he was relieved to hear that she was quieting. He truly hated to see anyone cry - especially a girl. "I feel kind of bad I didn't hit him. But Blaise sure knocked him on his ass..." He murmured - trying to make her laugh - and smiled slightly when she hiccuped a laugh. _Mission semi-accomplished._

Another handful of minutes passed before she sniffled again and sighed, "If anyone told me that Ron would call me a Mudblood and you'd hug me, I would've taken them to St. Mungo's myself."

At that, he laughed, "I know what you mean. War changes things, I suppose."

She nodded and then pulled away from him, making sure to cross her arms so she wouldn't focus on the fact that she liked how he felt in them. "I'm sorry I blubbered all over you like some bloody Banshee."

"Don't apologize. You needed a shoulder to cry on. Err - well, in this case...A _chest_ to cry on."

She smiled again and looked behind him. He followed her gaze and saw that Weasley was now sitting up and glaring at them. The Boy Wonder was nowhere to be found.

Hermione tore her eyes away from him and ran a hand through her hair, "I should go inside. Hide in the tower."

"No bathroom this time?" He smirked and felt another strange flutter in his chest when she sighed a laugh.

She shook her head, "I already had a nice time there today, I don't like pressing my luck hoping for another one."

He smiled at that, "Catching a Malfoy crying is your idea of a nice time?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled back, "No, silly. Realizing that you actually think for yourself is. I may not have said it earlier, but I'm really glad you...you aren't all - " She sighed and searched for the right words.

He couldn't help but laugh as he watched the little lines form in between her eyes, "I get it, Granger. Don't strain yourself."

"No!" She giggled, "I want to say it right. I'm...I'm glad that you aren't the person I thought you were. There, that's how I wanted it to come out."

He nodded and his smile faded, "I _was_ that person, Granger."

"Well obviously something changed you."

 _Someone..._ He thought to himself and looked to the ground.

"Whatever it was, I'm glad, Malfoy. I knew you weren't like them." She smiled and slowly reached out to touch his elbow.

He wanted to argue. He wanted to tell her that he was still like them. He still sat beside them in meetings. He still received letters from the Dark Lord. He still had _the task_ to worry about. He may not see her as beneath him or dirty blooded, but he was far from the good person she was making him out to be.

Rather than tell her all of that and ruin the good moment he found himself enjoying, he grinned and let her link his arm with hers. "You want to go to Hogsmeade with me and a couple friends?"

"Are those friends Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, by chance?"

He fully smiled and began to walk the path again, pleased that she was walking beside him without putting up a fight. "Yes, they are."

"Then hell yes!" She exclaimed.

Draco didn't turn to see but he just knew that Weasley was watching in rage as they walked arm in arm, talking and laughing away from him.


	5. Chapter 4

**My apologies for the lateness!**

 **In all honesty, I completely forgot to update on this site while doing so on wattpad. So you're getting two chapters and hopefully the next will be finished up soon!**

 **If I still have readers here, that is...**

 **Oh I also got a review stating that Daphne is the older sister - I know but for the story's sake, I have made Astoria the oldest and Daphne the youngest.**

 **Okay, enough of that. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

If one more damn person glared at her in fright or stared in awe, Hermione knew she would snap.

After she left the bathroom, she decided it was best to mull over what Malfoy had revealed to her. This was _huge_ and she couldn't just brush it off.

She had to analyze it. She had to think it over clearly and without her own personal opinions involved. Think about it from all sides.

She truly wanted to believe that he was sincere in thinking that it was foolish to believe in blood purity. He wouldn't be the first in Slytherin - or his family for that matter - to denounce those archaic beliefs.

A part of her that sounded an awful lot like Harry warned her that he could very well be lying to get to her. A common Dark wizard tactic to hurt those on the Light who naively thought they changed. He could be a spy for You Know Who and was sent to get to Harry through her.

But he had sounded so sincere. His eyes were clear and she was no Occlumens but she felt like she could see right into him and knew that he was speaking from his heart.

Before she could really think about it in depth, someone had gripped her upper arm and pulled her into the alcove she had been passing.

She instinctively grabbed her wand and before she fired off a hex, someone shouted. "Down, Tiger! It's me!"

Letting out her breath in a whoosh, she grabbed at her racing heart. "Merlin, Ginny! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry, I needed to get you alone before you went up to the common room."

Hermione frowned, "Is that where my lynch mob is waiting?"

Ginny cringed and bit her lower lip, "Lavender spread the whole story like fiendfyre. Everyone is suddenly picking sides and it's a mess upstairs."

Suddenly, Hermione wished that she had sent a painful hex directed at the insufferable witch. "I hate her!"

"You and me both. Her sister is being her little publicist and telling the whole school that you outright attacked her for being with Ron." The redhead explained and looked like she was preparing to be flung into a wall herself. "They painted you to be the jealous witch."

Hermione's jaw dropped, "That little- I can't- _What?!_ I didn't even attack _her_! It was a bloody accident and it was Ron's fault for calling me a bitch!"

"See, I don't think she told her sister that."

Hermione's head was spinning and angry tears sprung in her eyes. If she could just get Lavender alone in a broom closet, oh she would wring her bloody neck for this. As if she needed to deal with this shit now while the war was quickly gaining speed! "How is this even important?! I didn't set to attack anyone! People saw! It's not like we were the only three people there."

At that, Ginny laughed. "Yeah, your main witnesses are Luna and Neville. Neither of which are the type to be believed by the majority of our school. The other few people at the Ravenclaw table were firsties and they're too scared to say shit. The rest of the Houses weren't even paying you much attention until the shouting and flying."

Childishly, she stomped her foot, "What about Harry? Or the professors? They must know it was an accident. I can't be perfect and rein in my magic all the bloody time."

"You know the professors don't concern themselves with this gossipy kind of stuff. And I'm sure Harry would spread the word, they're more likely to believe him than Violet Brown." Ginny shrugged.

Hermione couldn't help but make a face, "Who the hell names their daughters Lavender and Violet? Do they have a brother named Plum or something?!"

Again, Ginny laughed, "No, I bet his name is Perry. Short for Periwinkle. Their mother must love purple."

Hermione stole a moment to laugh with her friend before the day's events struck her again and she sighed. "I need to talk to Harry."

Ginny nodded, "I can fetch him for you. What about if I see Ron?"

"No. I don't want to see him yet...Is he in the hospital wing?" She asked with a slight hint of concern. She was pissed off but she didn't want him to be hurting.

"Oh please, he barely had a scratch on him. He's upstairs - fuming of course - while Lavender milked herself a day or two in hospital." Ginny said with a roll of her eyes.

Hermione crossed her arms and scoffed, "At least I don't have to deal with her. I'll talk to Harry and McGonagall and I'll just avoid that area until this blows over."

"I don't think it'll blow over until _my_ bloody graduation."

* * *

Hermione escaped the castle and wiped away the furious tears that were escaping her eyes.

Lavender Brown was lucky she was far away from her at this moment because Hermione felt like making her false accusations a reality. Just _one_ hex is what she wanted to give. Just a tiny one. Maybe pimples that spelled out _'LIAR'_ on her forehead would do.

The amount of people that glared at her when she left the bathroom had doubled. And some had even gone as far as to bump their shoulders into her particularly hard.

After all the shit that was going on. After all she did to help these people and they turned their backs and mistreated her like nothing? It pissed Hermione off a great deal.

She stormed to the Black Lake and watched as people who just yesterday had talked to her about random things suddenly avoided her presence or glared at her and for a moment she wondered if this was how Draco Malfoy felt every day at school.

Damn Lavender Brown. Damn _everything_.

Ginny was supposed to go upstairs to the Gryffindor Common Room, grab Harry, and bring him here to her. She glanced around nervously and saw the people that were previously milling around had gone inside.

 _Perfect_.

She wanted some privacy to speak to Harry and possibly scream at him. His shouting at her when he ran to Ron's rescue annoyed her now that she thought about it.

He should know how accidental magic worked! He didn't have to bloody gripe at her like she had just cast an Unforgivable.

When she heard crunching of leaves behind her, she stood with haste and turned around. She felt her whole body tense as she saw an extra person walking alongside the secret couple.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione sneered at none other than Ron Weasley.

Ginny pressed her lips together apologetically, "He heard me tell Harry to meet you out here and wanted to come. I couldn't get rid of him."

Ron glared at Hermione while Harry rolled his eyes, "What is it, Hermione?"

"I need you to _please_ spread the word that it was an accident because the whole school believed Trelawney Jr.'s story and thinks I _attacked_ her and Ron out of bloody jealousy."

Ron scoffed loudly and looked at her skeptically, "As if you didn't."

Ginny raised her hands and slowly walked away, "I'm not getting in the middle of this shit." She and Harry shared a glance that Ron missed. "Good luck, I have to study."

He nodded as she walked away and Hermione waited until it was just the three of them before responding.

"Why are you even speaking to me? You said you never wanted to again."

Harry shifted uncomfortably as Ron glared at the both of them. "He already told me he wants to yell at us both before we 'cease to exist'."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Six years of friendship and fighting different bloody versions of You-Know-Who and that's it? You have cut ties with us? Even _you_ aren't that childish, Ronald."

"Oh shut up!" Ron shouted. "I'm so sick of you and your bloody superiority complex! Like you're above me or something! Just stop!"

Harry furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side in confusion and Hermione mirrored him.

"Where the hell did that come from?" She shouted and crossed her arms tight against her chest.

She knew she could be a bit controlling at times but a _superiority complex?!_ What kind of bull is that?!

"I've been thinking it for a long time now! Since I first bloody met you!" Ron yelled and his ears turned pink. "You always act smarter than me!"

The rage that was ebbing inside of Hermione exploded and she was speaking before even realizing what the words meant, "It wasn't an act, trust me!"

Harry couldn't help but snicker.

"See!? That! _That_ right there is why I know you're a bitch!" Ron spewed while pointing an accusatory finger at her. "I hate you both!"

Harry sobered quickly and stepped in between them with raised arms, "Guys! Enough! Just calm the hell down!"

Ron scoffed again, "Enough of what, Harry?! Of letting her know how we both really feel?!"

Hermione turned her angry gaze at her raven haired best friend with a silent question. What was Ron saying?! What the hell is happening?!

"That's not true! Don't try and speak for me!" Harry shouted at him, " _You_ may hate her but I don't!"

Hermione backed away a few steps and found herself pushed against a tree as Ron stalked forward with a dark look in his eyes.

He laughed a few times without humor and his lip curled back. "Oh right! I forgot! You _love_ her!"

"Of bloody course, I love her! She's Hermione!" Harry yelled back, "She's our best friend! I don't know what you deluded yourself into thinking about the two of us but you're wrong!"

Hermione nodded slowly, "There's nothing between us, Ron. If that's why you're so angry, just let it go!"

"I see the way you look at him, Hermione! Just shut up with your lies! I'm not that stupid!"

It was Harry's turn to shout now, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Ron spluttered for a moment and shook his head, "I'm sick of it! The way you two are!"

"Why are _you_ so jealous?" Hermione asked with an incredulous laugh. "Last I checked, you and your precious Lav-Lav were in paradise! What does it matter if Harry and I are even together?"

"HA! So you admit it!" Ron grinned in triumph. "And why would I be jealous? You're nothing to me! You're half the witch than Lavender is! And you know it!" Ron turned impossibly redder as he shoved Harry out of the way and advanced on her. "That's why you hate her so much! You want to be her!"

Hermione knew on some level that he was right but she wasn't about to tell him that so she did the next thing that came to her mind.

She walked forward, which caused him to back away a few paces. He was about to start yelling at her again when she swung her clenched fist back and landed a solid punch.

A small stab of pain ran up to her wrist but it was nothing compared to the pain she had felt when she hit Malfoy.

As Ron gasped and staggered back while clenching his face, the trio heard a hearty laugh from behind them.

"That looked like it hurt!" The stranger laughing called to them.

She turned to look at the people watching and her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. His trademark silver blonde hair moving gently in the breeze.

Ron was busy holding his jaw and Harry scoffed when he saw the three Slytherin voyeurs. He threw up a middle finger in annoyance.

Hermione hadn't pulled her gaze away from Draco, his earlier words to her echoing in her head.

The one laughing - Blaise Zabini - announced that she had punched Ron to the other two and Pansy Parkinson laughed.

Draco, however, just kept staring. She saw him glance down her figure and she clenched her fists tighter, fearing that he could see the slight shake to them.

She noticed Pansy say something and Ron muttered something about rotten Slytherin prats. For whatever reason, she felt intense anger flood her again and quickly turned to him.

"Oh you're one to bloody talk! Look at you! Calling me a bitch and treating me and Harry like -" She advanced on him as she yelled and pointed a finger in his face. " - like we're below you!"

Suddenly, Ron grabbed her wrist and she gasped at the pressure he used. "I said shut up!" He pushed and released her, causing her to stumble on an unearthed root.

Before she could hit the ground, Harry caught her by the tops of her arms and pulled her upright. "Are you alright?" He whispered.

She was fine. Her wrist was hurting - which angered her - but otherwise, she wasn't hurt.

Her answer was halted by the angered shout of Pansy Parkinson. When she looked over, she saw the trio coming towards them.

"I should've known your mother never told you it's ill bred to man handle a girl." Pansy looked livid while raising her wand in Ron's face.

And oh did Ron look frightened for a fraction of a second.

Again, she looked at Draco and was astonished to see anger in his eyes. But unlike the countless other times where he'd look at _her_ in that way, he was looking at only Ron this time. When his eyes shifted to her, they softened considerably.

Subconsciously, she rubbed at her wrist to soothe the ache and watched Draco's face tense. He looked so attractive when he was angry - something she didn't notice until his anger was no longer directed at her.

It unsettled her a bit. Again, his words that told her so much in so little time were playing in her head. Had he truly changed?

If he did, would he show that change now? Or would his friends' presence morph him back? Was she wrong and he was actually coming to watch and taunt them?

"Piss of Parkinson!" Ron shouted and it snapped her out of her thoughts. She focused back on the wand pointed at the redhead and saw Harry doing the same.

 _No sudden movements_. She thought to herself and nearly face palmed when Harry reached out to grab Ron's arm.

"All of you, just piss off!" He shouted again while shaking away Harry's hands.

She had no idea what had happened. It was a mystery why Ron was acting this way - so angry at them both. Could one bout of accidental magic bring all this on?

She jumped slightly when Blaise crossed his arms, "I would be very careful of how you speak to my girl, Weasley." _Oh, so they're a couple. "_ We don't want you being accidentally thrown into the lake and into the clutches of the giant squid this time, now would we?"

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't miss the jab he made at her accidentally sending him into the Ravenclaw table.

Pansy's head tilted to the side as her wand twirled in her hand, "Who says it'd be an accident?" She laughed and both Ron and Harry now looked fearful.

Hermione felt her cheeks flame as she realized the most unlikely of people were defending _her._ Defending her from her own best friend.

The world had gone upside down.

"I appreciate your help," She started, looking at Draco then to Pansy. "but I'm fine. We were only talking."

She prayed Pansy would just drop her wand. Never in her life would she want Ron on the receiving end of anyone's wand.

"Granger, you can't expect us to believe that rubbish." Draco scoffed and looked at her with disapproval. "We all saw the Weasel grab you!"

As right as he was, she didn't want this to happen. It wasn't right. It didn't feel natural to be protected from Ron of all people.

Before she could speak, Harry growled at the blonde, "Spare us the savior act, Malfoy."

Draco smirked at the boy behind her, "We all know that's your specialty." She was beyond shocked when he lifted his hand and held it out to her. "Come on Granger, let's leave these fools to themselves."

She wanted to close the space between them as she saw the softness in his eyes which looked so similar to when they were in the bathroom.

Apparently she didn't move fast enough because Pansy shook her own hand, gesturing for her to step closer to them.

When she lifted one foot, Ron scoffed and snarled, "Who would've thought the Death Eater wannabes would run to the aid of a filthy Mudblood."

Hermione could've sworn on Godric's grave that a piece of her heart broke off from the rest and settled at her feet.

Behind her, Harry's breath escaped him in a shock that must've mirrored hers. Shock and pain were bringing tears to her eyes.

To her surprise, Blaise's eyes flashed and he punched Ron so hard that he fell to the ground. As he fell, Pansy whispered a spell and she couldn't take anymore.

She didn't want them to see her cry so she walked briskly to the trees across the way. She bumped into someone but didn't care.

Ron had actually called her a _Mudblood_.

She had no idea why he would do such a thing or why he was being so cruel but it broke her heart like nothing else.

Even sending her parents away hadn't hurt this much because she knew they would be safe. This pain broke something inside of her and she wanted to hide away in a hole and die.

Ron and Harry were the two people she knew would always be there for her. She thought that they would have her back forever.

When Draco had first called her a Mudblood, Ron had been so angry that he had tried to hex him in her defense. Yet now, _he_ had called her that? Why?

A painful spasm occurred in her stomach from her broken sobs and she covered the area with her arms. She squeezed and cried harder as the pain didn't stop.

Why would he be so mean? Was it really because of what she did to him and Lavender? Or was it because of her supposed superiority complex? Or was it something else? None of it made sense.

She had no idea how long she was standing there under the trees. When the leaves and twigs ahead of her began to crunch under someone's feet, she realized she wasn't alone.

A cold hand touched her arm and she looked up for the quickest of glances.

She should've known it was him. His touch was unfamiliar yet surprisingly gentle.

"Granger..."

The way he said her name made her cry just a little bit more. She never expected Draco Malfoy to say her name with such concern.

"I'm...I'm fine." She cried and spoke out of habit. She was never one for crying in front of people. Only Harry and Ron saw her tears, and even then she would tell them she was fine and to carry on with what they were doing.

And they always did. Harry would sometimes linger and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't expect anything less.

But Draco surprised her again today when he said, "No, you're not." That was new. You never expected anyone to say that to you, no matter how much you wish they would. "Granger, he's an idiot."

Hermione sniffled and nodded slightly. A part of her wanted to defend Ron, so she explained. "Ron never...He has never called me that before."

Saying it out loud hurt worse than she expected. Without thinking of the consequences, she closed the space between them and rested her head on the warm chest of Draco Malfoy.

She waited for him to shove her away. She waited for a disgusted scoff and harsh words. She waited for what she thought she knew was his nature.

When he stood there with his arms steady at his sides, it surprised her. But again, she sniffled and waited for him to do something, _anything_ that would get her away from him.

To say she was shocked when he put his arms around her in a comforting gesture would be an understatement. He was _holding_ her in his arms and rubbing his hands in small circles against her back.

She stood frozen as he soothed her and then he whispered, "It's okay...Just let it out."

And she did. He had no idea but his words meant more than just letting out her tears caused by Ron.

She had been holding her emotions in for so long now that him telling her to let it out opened the floodgates.

She wrapped her arms around him and just cried. She cried for her lost parents, for her lost friendships, she cried because she was terrified of her fate.

Everything she had kept bottled up all these months came pouring out of her eyes and onto his shirt.

When she felt his chin atop of her head, she sighed in either relief or contentment. She wasn't sure. The one thing she was sure of was that she was grateful he was being nice.

She had no idea how long she stood there in his arms but when her tears began to wane, she realized that she didn't want to leave his arms yet.

Godric help her, she liked the way he fit against her.

When his chest expanded, she thought he was about to say something mean and shove her. But instead he said, "I feel kind of bad I didn't hit him. But Blaise sure knocked him on his ass."

She smiled and a bubble of laughter escaped her lips but it sounded more like a hiccup. He really was funny when he wanted to be...

Why hadn't he always been like this? If he acted like this when they first got to Hogwarts, she was sure that she would've befriended him. Maybe even... _No._

She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed once more. A small part of her wished that her nostrils were cleared so she could inhale his scent.

She sniffled and smiled slightly, "If anyone told me that Ron would call me a Mudblood and you'd hug me, I would've taken them to St. Mungo's myself."

 _What an upside down world..._

She smiled fully when he vibrated with a laugh, "I know what you mean. War changes things, I suppose..."

 _War._ War changed everything around them.

That's what scared her the most. The changes that were coming - and some surely weren't good.

But this...Draco... Maybe this was good.

She nodded both at his words and her own conclusion. Maybe he was good, after all.

Maybe. Just maybe he was...

She forced herself to pull away from him and noticed that her arms suddenly felt empty. She crossed them quickly and fought the realization. No good could really come from it.

"I'm sorry I blubbered all over you like some bloody Banshee." She apologized and felt her cheeks flame.

He only smiled - actually _smiled_ \- and shook his head. "Don't apologize. You needed a shoulder to cry on. Err - well, in this case, a _chest_ to cry on."

She smiled and almost felt like laughing when a patch of red hair moved behind Draco. She focused and saw Ron standing where she had left him.

The anger in his eyes was so intense that if looks could kill, she and her new companion would be six feet under.

She searched the area but couldn't find Harry or the other two Slytherins anywhere. They must've snuck away...

She looked down at the ground and ran a nervous hand through her hair, almost groaning as her fingers caught onto knots. "I should go inside. Hide in the tower."

Hermione didn't tell him that she was sure everyone in the tower hated her and she'd probably have to seek refuge in the library to avoid the glares and taunts.

He didn't need to know that.

"No bathroom this time?" He asked with his trademark smirk in place. Only this one seemed a little bit softer. Almost flirty...

 _No. Stop it, Hermione._

She breathed a laugh and shook her head, "I already had a nice time there today, I don't like pressing my luck for another one."

A part of her didn't want to replace the memory she had with him. If she went to the bathroom, she was sure something else would happen and she'd look back on today and only remember that.

Call her a sentimental fool, but she wanted to cherish that moment. For whatever reason.

Her heart fluttered when she saw him smile.

"Catching a Malfoy crying is your idea of a nice time?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Leave it to him to focus on the part that mattered the least. "No, silly." She smiled, "Realizing that you actually think for yourself is."

Another flutter started when his eyes softened and his smile grew. "I may not have said it earlier, but I'm really glad you..." _That bloody smile..._ "you aren't all..."

She was bloody stuttering again and tried to focus on anything _but_ his smile as she tried to think of how to say what she wanted.

His sudden laugh wasn't really helping matters - the new sound was so contagious. "I get it, Granger. Don't strain yourself."

She giggled with him, "No! I want to say it right. I'm..." She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "I'm glad that you aren't the person I thought you were. There, that's how I wanted it to come out."

She watched as his attractive smile faded away and his eyes grew sad. Then he nodded and sighed, "I _was_ that person, Granger."

His broken voice made her want to hug him again, but she bit her lip and kept her distance. "Well obviously something changed you."

He looked down at their feet and she nibbled on her lip before speaking again. "Whatever it was, I'm glad, Malfoy. I knew you weren't like them."

She wanted him to look up at her again so she reached out and touched his arm, squeezing the slightest bit.

He was quiet for a while. For a moment, she thought he had been petrified because he was so still.

She felt panic settle in her stomach and hoped she hadn't crossed any lines by speaking or even touching him. But before her overthinking could get too far, he looked up at her and gave her a small smile.

He moved his arm until hers was linked with his. "You want to go to Hogsmeade with me and a couple friends?"

 _Would he ever stop surprising me?_ She thought to herself as she stepped closer to him. "Are those friends Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini?"

His smile grew and he nodded. "Yes, they are."

When he started walking down the path that led to the gates, she fell into step with him and smiled at the ground. "Then hell yes!"

As they took a few more steps, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand and turned to look behind them.

She was unsurprised to see Ron glaring at them. He looked so angry...Much angrier than he did before.

"Don't look back at him. He's not worth it." Draco murmured beside her. "Besides, if you stare too long you'll want to go back and miss out on an amazing drinking excursion with Slytherin's best."

A laugh forced her to look away from the livid redhead and into silver gray eyes, "Well who would ever want to miss that?"

"Well look who's here!" The booming voice of Blaise Zabini echoed through the Hog's Head as soon as Hermione and Draco stepped through the threshold.

He and Pansy raised their glasses as Draco waved to them. He let his hand wander lower down her arm so he could hold her hand and she winced slightly as he brushed against the still forming bruise.

As soon as they were close enough to the table, Pansy stood and ran over to hug Hermione.

"Oh my..." Hermione yelped as the brunette gave her a squeeze.

Pansy laughed at how tense she was, "Oh, I won't bite, Granger! Come on, let's drink!"

Pansy settled Hermione down on one side of the small square table while she sat across from her. Blaise was to Pansy's left on the third side while Draco was across him.

They never had this before - a full table - and the new addition was quite nice so far.

Pansy immediately waved Aberforth over to take their next order while Blaise lazily brought out a bag of Galleons.

Hermione nearly jumped out of her seat when Aberforth approached their table. For a second, she had thought he was Albus Dumbledore - they looked so much alike.

"They're brothers." Draco whispered from her left, practically hearing her thoughts.

"Oh." She muttered and looked at the man a bit closer. The only noticeable difference was that where Albus had kind eyes behind his spectacles, Aberforth looked ornery.

"Granger, do you prefer straight Firewhisky or spiked Butterbeer?" Pansy asked with a friendly smile, then shook her head and turned back to the elder Wizard. "Ab, just get us four Firewhiskys and then four spiked Butterbeers."

Aberforth nodded and grunted a response before walking away.

"I doubt you Gryffindors drink much but we Slytherins do. It's practically a way of life, right Darling?" Pansy smirked while looking at her boyfriend.

Blaise raised his near empty glass and nodded, "Damn right. Only way to deal with our lives is to be drunk most of the time."

Draco smiled when Hermione looked over to him nervously. "Guys, you're terrifying her. Calm down."

"Oh shut up, she's fine." Pansy defended and poked her tongue out. Nevertheless, she turned to Hermione and looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I just...well we never have another girl with us so I've never really hung out with anyone else but these two dolts."

"Hey!" Blaise whined, "That's one attractive boyfriend and a dolt!"

Draco smirked and leaned over to whisper to Hermione, "He thinks he's attractive but Pansy confided in me that I was better looking."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh while Blaise glared.

"I heard that, you arse."

Draco shrugged and laughed, "What? I turned her down!"

Pansy rolled her eyes exceptionally hard when Blaise threw a wadded up napkin at his face.

As the boys began their childish back and forth, Hermione focused on Pansy and her earlier statement. "I understand. It's always me, Harry, and Ron."

"Don't you have that Weasley girl? And the blonde?" Pansy asked with a tilted head.

"Luna and Ginny aren't exactly the type of girls I'd like to hang out with, if I'm being honest. I love them and they're great but we're very different."

Ginny always wanted to discuss Quidditch or something somehow relating to Quidditch and Luna was so random that Hermione could never guess just what was going to be said next.

"I know what you mean. The only girls I really have are Daphne and Astoria." Pansy shrugged as Aberforth brought over their drinks. "But Daphne is so...quiet. And despite our differences, Astoria and I could get along quite well. She is - _was -_ really amazing."

Hermione noticed that Draco froze for a moment before continuing to reach for his glass.

Blaise said nothing as he took a long swig of his butterbeer while Pansy looked apologetic for a moment.

 _Was..._

Hermione thought over the use of that word and hoped her assumption was wrong. No deaths of any Hogwarts students had been reported - that she knew of at least.

"Did I miss something?" Hermione asked before taking a sip of her drink. She fought the urge to make a face. She never much cared for spiked anything but she figured she deserved _some_ alcohol.

Draco tapped his fingernail against his glass for a few seconds before shrugging, "Astoria died. Yesterday."

Pansy reached over and put her hand on Draco's arm and Hermione didn't miss the sympathy in her eyes.

She looked up at Draco and saw the pain swimming in his eyes. There was pain that was horribly familiar to her.

 _Loss._

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."

Blaise was the one to answer, "How could you have? We were only informed this morning."

This morning... _Oh._

Suddenly, Hermione understood _why_ she had found him in the bathroom earlier. Now she knew why there were letters at his feet. It all made sense.

Draco met her gaze and forced a smirk, "Whatever you're thinking, Granger, you're probably wrong."

Pansy slowly slid her hand back to her glass and smirked, "Hermione Granger? Wrong? I doubt it. I'll bet twenty Galleons."

"You're on." Blaise clapped once, "Let's hear it, Granger. My girl has to pay me."

Hermione frowned and looked to Draco, "I didn't know you and Astoria were a...were a couple."

Blaise chuckled while Pansy frowned, "Pay up, my love."

"You weren't?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

Draco shook his head and grinned, "No. We were betrothed and neither of us liked that fact. But we were nothing more than...friends, if that."

"Oh." She said and took another sip of her drink, "I just assumed...the way Pansy looked at you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Draco assured her before sipping his drink.

Pansy, who was busy counting her Galleons, looked up, "It's a long story. And I'll tell you eventually. That is, if you stick around with us long enough."

Blaise grinned as the small pile of money was pushed his way. "Now, enough of that. Let's get drunk and have our new guest - Gryffindor's Angel - tell us about herself and things we don't know."

Draco looked relieved to have the subject changed and raised his own glass, "I second that."

Hermione chuckled and looked at the three waiting for her to start talking.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

Pansy looked slyly at Draco and then grinned like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Hermione felt a little nervous when Pansy began speaking, "Who's better in bed, do you think? Ron Weasley or Harry Potter?"

Blaise laughed loudly while Draco nearly choked on his butterbeer. "Pansy! What the hell?!"

Hermione felt her cheeks flush and started chugging her butterbeer.

"Oh come on! Take a joke!" Pansy laughed with her boyfriend while Draco just glared at them.

Oh, she was definitely going to need that Firewhisky.


	6. Chapter 5

Draco felt slightly nervous as he and Blaise levitated eight glasses of Firewhisky to their table.

After Hermione told Pansy that she would rather die than know what sex with Harry would be like and that Ron was nowhere near her belt of eligible notches, Pansy suggested they play a game.

 _Never Have I Ever..._

One of Pansy's exes - one that Blaise was fighting the urge to pummel - was a Muggleborn and had taught her the game the night of their Yule Ball in fourth year.

Draco and Blaise still weren't exactly sure on what the rules of the game were, but the girls agreed and Pansy insisted it would be fun.

From the apprehensive look on Hermione's face, he knew his own nervousness was warranted.

When they set the full glasses down, Draco smirked at the lines that formed between Hermione's brows. "Nervous?"

"Why do we each get two glasses?" Hermione ignored his question and looked to Pansy.

Blaise pushed two in front of each of them before taking his seat, "Why are you complaining about the amount of drinks?"

"Because! I rarely ever drink and when I do, it's barely one glass. With these two, it'll be four!" Hermione whined, "I'm not looking to get drunk!"

Draco scoffed, "Come on, Granger. No one gets drunk from four drinks."

"I'm sure she does." Pansy laughed, "I bet she's a lightweight."

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "You really want to make bets about me after last time?" She asked with a playful smirk on her lips.

He had to admit that her sarcasm was something he was starting to like. Among other things...Like her scent - lavender and vanilla - and her curls. Or the way she felt in his arms.

Out of all the times they had argued through the years, he never allowed himself to find her attractive.

But now...

Pansy's expression turned sour while Blaise raised his hand to Hermione, looking for and receiving a high five. "I like you, Granger."

The voice shook him from his thoughts and he felt his heart almost leap into his throat when Blaise said the words he had just been thinking.

Hermione smirked in thanks then looked back at Draco, "I'm not drinking all that."

"Well we'll see. It's part of the game. For all we know, you really are Miss Goody Two Shoes and you take the smallest of sips." Pansy shrugged and for that he was grateful.

His newly discovered attraction had left him momentarily speechless where she was concerned.

He took a deep breath and crossed his arms, "How exactly does this game work again?" He asked, hiding the fact that he was slowly finding himself attracted to the curly haired witch by his side.

With a roll of her eyes, Pansy grabbed her glass and explained _again._ "I would say 'Never have I ever...smoked.' or something like that. Those of you who _have_ done it, take a drink. Then each of us says a new one."

"But you have smoked. We smoked two nights ago." Blaise said in confusion which made Hermione laugh hard.

Draco felt something strange in his chest at the sound and couldn't help but laugh with her.

It _was_ quite funny how clueless Blaise sounded. Draco thought the game was simple enough to understand now that Pansy put it that way. But Blaise had always been the one who needed more time to process new things.

"Sweetheart..." Pansy sighed and scratched the back of her neck before explaining again.

While they were occupied, Draco turned to Hermione and asked. "What questions will you be asking? Because I have no idea what to ask."

"No way are you stealing my questions." Hermione pretended to zip her lips shut with a somewhat flirty glint in her eyes.

Draco put a hand to his chest in mock offense, "I would never steal. I would simply borrow."

"Yeah right. You're not _borrowing_ my questions." She smirked, "I may not be a Slytherin but I know when someone is trying to be cunning."

"Fine! I'll think of my own." He huffed and looked back over at his friends. Her smirk was making him feel _something_ in his chest and he felt slightly unnerved because he didn't know what it all meant.

He'd never felt this before...

Pansy looked equal parts frustrated and entertained, "The official rules say the thing you say is something you've never done. But I'm breaking that rule because I can. Make sense?"

Blaise nodded and grinned, "Okay. I get it now. Can we all break that rule because I don't have much stuff I've never done."

"Yes, we all can."

Draco nodded, "Good. Who goes first?"

"I will." Hermione smirked as the others held on to their drinks. "Never have I ever...had a crush on a professor."

Draco rolled his eyes at that and made a show of pushing his glass away but couldn't help noticing that Hermione didn't.

The pair began laughing when Pansy blushed and sipped her drink.

Blaise was far more confident when he raised his own glass and took a big gulp. "Professor Sinistra. Who was yours, sweetheart?"

Pansy shook her head and didn't meet his eyes.

The options were limited and Draco had a horrid thought that caused him to pause.

He stopped laughing and spoke with a hint of disgust in his tone. "If you say Professor Snape..."

"If she does, I'm jumping off the Astronomy Tower." Blaise muttered while Hermione tipped her glass and had a drink.

Pansy curled her lip and shook her head, "No! Ew! It was Professor Lockhart!"

Hermione laughed again and nodded, "Me too! I was so embarrassingly in love with him!"

"Me too!" Pansy laughed, "He was the hottest professor we ever had."

Blaise sighed in relief while Draco shook his head, "He doesn't count! He wasn't even a real professor!"

"Yes he was. He wasn't that great, but he was one." Hermione argued. "He taught us things."

Draco made a face and waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, like how to set pixies loose or how to lose bones."

Hermione was about to reply when Pansy snapped her fingers and caught their attention. "Okay people! Focus! It's my turn."

The other three all looked at her and Draco rolled his eyes when she made a show of thinking of a good one.

"Never have I ever...kissed an older person. I'm keeping it tame for now." Pansy smiled and took a drink. "I snogged a fifth year in my first year."

Blaise and Hermione were the two to take a gulp again.

Draco raised a questioning brow and looked at the witch by his side. He felt a slight tensing in his gut at the thought that she may have kissed someone older. Who the hell was he?

And bloody hell, was this _jealousy?_

Hermione blushed a deep shade of red and shrugged, "I was a fourth year and Viktor Krum really liked me."

"What a perv!" Blaise exclaimed. "Though, I am no one to talk but still. You were all young and he was of age."

Draco chuckled, forcing himself to not feel the irrational anger towards the Quidditch star. "So that's why you two went to the ball together."

He remembered the night he saw her on his arm and how confused he had been. Quidditch star Viktor Krum had _actually_ taken Hermione _Mudblood_ Granger to the ball? It had been such an odd display for his young and close minded self.

"Yes. I managed to attract a superstar. Shocker." Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised _you_ didn't take a drink."

"I must be a better person than I thought. No weird crushes or illegal snogging." Draco smirked.

Pansy huffed, "Mine wasn't illegal."

"Just pervy." Blaise remarked and got a slap to his shoulder. "Okay, my turn." He looked at Draco and smirked evilly.

Draco wanted to groan as he thought of all the possible things Blaise was about to bring up.

He loved Blaise like a brother but for fucks sake, if he tried to embarrass him there would be hell to pay.

Blaise knew.

Draco just _knew_ that Blaise knew of his newfound feelings for Granger. And he knew that he was going to bring _something_ up that would make Draco want to crawl into a hole and never surface again.

He knew because it was exactly what _he_ would've done if it had been Blaise with a new crush.

"Never have I ever...stared at myself in the mirror and told myself I was the most attractive kid in school."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed away her glass, "If any of you take a damn sip, I will make fun of you until we are all old and gray."

Draco - choosing to ignore the fact that Hermione alluded to the fact that they were going to be around each other for years to come - glared at his best friend while raising his glass and taking a large sip.

Pansy covered her mouth to stifle her sudden fit of giggles.

 _Damn you, Blaise._ He thought to himself.

"Oh no, Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed and covered her eyes while laughing. "You cannot be serious!"

Blaise laughed with the girls, "I caught him in fourth year. When Krum and all the other exchange students were everywhere." He cleared his throat and began using a ridiculously high pitched tone to mimic him. "'Draco stop it. You know you're better looking than all of them!'"

"I hate you so much." Draco growled and felt his cheeks flaming.

Of _all_ the things! He could've brought up his Weird Sisters obsession or the fact that he read Muggle books! But _that?!_

Hermione reached over - still giggling - and put her hand on his arm, "Well, if it means anything. I think you're much better...better company than Viktor Krum."

He couldn't help but notice her pause. _No!_ He scolded himself _. Don't get your bloody hopes up. Just because you're now starting to like her, doesn't mean she would ever feel the same. Especially if she knew what_ He _had in store..._

"Oh?" Pansy asked, her giggling coming to a stop, "He's better company than the older famous Quidditch star you were snogging? Interesting."

"Do notice how she said better company and not better looking. Sorry, mate." Blaise chuckled which made Hermione blush.

Draco's glare intensified and he fought the urge to kick his best friend in the shin. "My turn."

Pansy smirked, "Don't get testy now."

"I'm not at you or Granger. Just your dear boyfriend."

Blaise smirked and tipped his glass in a mock toast, "Aren't I just lucky?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and moved her hand - which was still on his arm - to her glass. "So, are you going to do your turn?"

Draco thought about it for a fraction of a second before he spoke. _Keep it tame for now, and later I'll get him._ "Never have I ever hexed or jinxed a friend."

When they all took a drink, Pansy smiled at Hermione with pride. "Which friend did you hex?"

"I wouldn't call her a friend really. Marietta Edgecombe. Those nasty boils she got on her forehead last year were from yours truly." Hermione smirked and Draco felt another flutter in his chest.

Those damn flutters were getting a bit ridiculous now.

"That was _you_?! Impressive!" Pansy applauded. "I remember catching her in the bathroom trying to cover them up. She was crying like Moaning Myrtle."

"Well I made that quite impossible." She laughed. "I was quite mean!"

Draco smirked at her, "Who knew you had such a vindictive side to you?"

"You're not the only one with surprises up your sleeve, Malfoy." She grinned at him and took a gulp of her drink.

 _Merlin, is she flirting with me?_ He thought to himself with a small glimmer of...hope.

Damn it.

He was screwed.

* * *

Draco couldn't stop laughing and he wasn't entirely sure why everything was so funny.

Okay...maybe he _did_ know.

A little over two hours had passed and they each had finished their two glasses of Firewhisky, and then some. Draco was sure he had had ordered three, maybe four, additional glasses.

Pansy and Blaise had at least another three each and Hermione had another two. He doubted that he would ever forget because she had kept repeating herself saying: "I had six drinks today! SIX!"

He was drunk. _They_ were drunk.

The game was still going and he had learned quite a bit about the muggleborn witch and she had learned just as much.

She had confessed to having a birthmark on her inner thigh and he told her about his own located on his ass that resembled a dragon. Blaise and Pansy had no known birthmarks.

He had been forced to confess that he loved the Weird Sisters. Pansy revealed to love a muggle group called The Spice Girls - Hermione had laughed so hard that Firewhisky came out of her nose - and Blaise said he preferred to listen to a band with a vampire as the frontman.

Hermione said that she never told anyone, but she loved listening to The Cranberries. He almost told her that he would be sure to find a way to listen to them.

Then there was the inevitable dirty questions. Luckily he and Hermione already had a slight buzz when Pansy said ' _Never have I ever had sex.'_

 _Of course she and Blaise had taken a drink. He blushed when Hermione looked at him expectantly and he pushed his glass away._

 _Hermione's eyes widened and she, too, pushed her glass away. Then she looked at him and cocked her head to one side. "Really? You've never..."_

 _"You really need to stop believing the rumors about me." He chuckled, "Really. I've never done anything more than snog."_

 _She had smiled and nodded thoughtfully and he had wished more than anything that he could hear what she was thinking._

The game had carried on with laughs and revealing secrets.

"My! Turn!" Hermione shouted and laughed when Aberforth turned and glared at them for the dozenth time in the last twenty minutes. "Sorry." She hiccuped.

Blaise laughed this time, "Granger, let the game die!" He and Pansy were nowhere near as drunk as their pissed companions and wanted to save them from anything worse than the slight hangovers they'd get.

Draco looked at Pansy leaning on Blaise lovingly and thought of a brilliant idea. He leaned over to Hermione - who had been scooting her chair closer to him throughout their game - and whispered, "Say you've never snogged a Ravenclaw at the last ball."

Hermione's hazy eyes looked at him curiously for a moment before she smiled and shouted, "Never have I ever snogged a Ravenclaw at the last ball!"

Pansy, who was only buzzed and was quick on her feet, frowned as she felt Blaise's arms tense around her.

Blaise's face turned sallow and Draco laughed, "Got you back!"

"What the hell is that about?" Pansy asked and turned to glare at her boyfriend.

Hermione who had no idea what was transpiring, grabbed her glass and chugged the last of her drink. When she slammed her empty glass down, she giggled, "If no one is going to drink, I might as well!"

Draco laughed again and rested his arm on the back of Hermione's chair.

A small and sober part of him told him that he just violated a huge best friend rule but he was drowned out by the larger part of him whooping in celebration when Hermione leaned against his arm.

"It was when you went to the loo at the Yule ball. I was kind of drunk and standing under the mistletoe." Blaise explained hastily while Pansy pulled away from him and Draco was sure steam was pouring from her ears.

Hermione's drunken state caused her to figure out the situation too late and she quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry!" She groaned. "Pansy, I'm so sorry!"

Pansy looked at her for a moment and shook her head, "So you cheated on me!" Her murderous eyes turned back on Blaise. "How dare you!"

"No!" Blaise shouted and raised his hands defensively. "Draco made it sound worse than it is!"

Draco knew he somewhat did but he was drunkenly pissed off that his secret was exposed.

Pansy laughed sardonically, "Oh he did, did he? So while I was off primping myself _for you_ , you thought it was no big deal to go and snog someone else?!"

"It was barely a snog! And it's not as if I sought her out or even thought to carry it on! I told you! I was standing under the bloody mistletoe and I was bloody drunk!" He sounded desperate for her to listen and leaned forward to reach for her hands.

She snatched them away and fought her growing desire to grab her wand and hex him.

"Looney Lovegood popped up out of nowhere! She must've been drunk too unless she looks hazy all the time!" He shook his head quickly and sounded frantic to get back on point. "Either way! She pointed out the mistletoe was there and kissed me! Full on tongued me! Draco saw it all! It was over before I could think to shove her away!"

Hermione, who had been silently watching the argument with Draco, nodded suddenly. "She is like that. Always in a daze." She whispered to Draco, making him laugh again.

"Oh! So it was Looney _fucking_ Lovegood! How wonderful!" Pansy yelled and stood up quickly.

Blaise groaned and put his hands at the back of his head, "Did you miss the whole 'barely a snog!' and 'came out of nowhere' bits?!"

She ignored him and pocketed her wand.

Draco slowly began to realize how badly he fucked up and called out to her. "Pans, come on! Don't leave!"

She grabbed her cloak and began to stalk out of the building, but not before she shoved Draco so hard he fell off his chair.

He groaned as the forming bruise on his ass throbbed.

"Fuck you, Draco!" And in a flash she was gone.

* * *

"You're such an asshole." Hermione spoke with a small bit of humor in her voice. Her eyes were clear again and she felt the small stirrings of a headache being soothed.

Blaise had cast a sobering charm on her before he rushed out and followed Pansy. So she figured this was his way of telling her that she needed to tend to a drunken Malfoy.

"I know." He sighed while she helped him sit back into his seat and cast the sobering charm on him. "I intentionally made it sound bad."

Now that he was sober, he _felt_ like an asshole.

She rolled her eyes and pocketed her wand, "I figured that out easily enough. But either way, it was bad."

"How?" He asked in confusion, "Your blonde friend ambushed him."

She sighed and shook her head. Boys could be so dense sometimes. "Say we were together..."

Those words made his heart jump, "What?"

"Oh don't go into a panic. Just..Say we were a together and in love, like Blaise and Pansy. And..." She looked around the room with blank eyes, searching for a name. "And Viktor Krum showed up and snogged me out of nowhere."

He flinched visibly.

Thinking of being a couple was one thing. He had hated the thought when it was Astoria he would be paired with...

But to be in a relationship with _her_ was something that sent his heart racing in a new and exciting way. And just imagining that it was him she would cuddle into the way Pansy cuddled into Blaise... And if that were reality and someone came and kissed her...

"But he didn-"

She smirked and interrupted him, "Say that I didn't kiss back either. Would you still be cross with me?"

His mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of what to say and she smirked triumphantly.

The truth was he _liked_ the imaginary scenario she painted of them. Her being his and he being hers. But he wasn't about to tell her that. Not now when they barely had one decent day together.

Instead, he chose to scoff. "It's not like that would ever happen. Us, I mean. So that entire scenario is pointless to think about."

Hermione, for some reason, just kept smirking. "I suppose you have a point. In any case, Pansy has every right to be angry at both of you. You're a horrible bastard for what you did."

Draco nodded, "I know. Now let's get out of here and do something."

He didn't want to think about what his friends were doing or yelling at the moment. He just really wanted to spend time with her to figure out what the hell these feelings she was conjuring in him were about.

"You think I'm going to go gallivanting around Hogsmeade with such an ass?" She asked with a playful twinkle in her eyes that made him smile.

A comment made its way into his head and before he said something that may incite more tears, he thought of the next name on his list. "Obviously. You're always around Potter."

"Huh. I half expected you to use Ron's name before Harry's." Hermione chuckled and stood from her seat. "Fine then. Let's go."

Draco was dumbfounded that she had accepted so easily but rose quickly in case she changed her mind.

He held his breath for a few seconds, debating whether or not to admit what he very much wanted to.

Then he remembered something Astoria had said once during one of their many rows.

 _"I don't understand how you can go your whole life without saying what you're thinking, Draco! We all have our own minds! We don't have to be like our parents!"_

Then he thought of his father and how cold and distant he was.

If this crush on the witch in front of him was to grow into something more, he didn't want to be like his father was to his mother.

Lucius never looked at Narcissa in any romantic way in all his life. He never even _looked_ at her - he doubted his father even knew what the flutters in his own chest felt like.

He didn't want to be like him at all. Not anymore...

"I was trying to spare your feelings, alright? No one likes seeing you cry... _I_ don't like seeing you cry. Especially over the likes of him."

He held his breath again and waited for her reaction. He didn't know what to expect.

Perhaps a mocking laugh or even a sneer. A simple _piss off_ wouldn't have been a shock.

But instead, she gave him a stunned look and slowly smiled. "How many times are you going to surprise me today?"

Those damn flutters wouldn't quit.

"The day is still young, so who knows?" He smirked and held his hand out.

She stared at it for the shortest of moments before taking it and giving a gentle squeeze.

If she too felt the jolt of electricity that her touch caused on his skin, she didn't show it.

"My turn to choose what we do."

* * *

"Honeydukes? Out of all the places we could go, you wanted to go to _Honeydukes_?" Draco asked with a hint of disbelief.

Hermione smiled and squeezed his warm and still tingling hand. "Now don't tell me you don't like candy because I'll never believe it. Even _I_ love this place."

"I actually thought you'd rather go to the bookstore." He murmured and looked down at their still joined hands.

For whatever reason, she hadn't let him go and he didn't mind in the slightest. He actually relished in the fact that her small hand fit perfectly in his.

"Now who's surprising whom?" She giggled then carried on in a playful tone. "If you really want to go buy books then at least let me get a lolly first."

That made him laugh. "A lolly? What are you, four years old?"

"No! I'm five. Duh." She laughed and began pulling him into the building. " _Come. On!"_

He joined in her laughter and let her lead him in but both stopped when a voice sounded from across the street.

"Hermione?"

Draco looked behind him and tensed when he saw the suspicious glare on the woman with bubblegum pink hair.

Hermione smiled when she saw Tonks standing there and tried to walk over to her - with Draco still in tow - but he was like a statue.

He knew exactly who the witch was that was glaring at their joined hands and he was taught at an early age that she was scum. And he knew what she must've thought of him.

She had no idea the changes going on inside his mind. She had no idea that over the years, ever since Voldemort returned, he wondered what his life would have been like if they had been close.

His cousin had no clue that he was ashamed of what he had grown up thinking of her.

"Malfoy...Come on. She won't bite." Hermione jested while tugging on his hand a bit harder.

He looked to his cousin and felt nervous when he realized she was only two feet from him. Her pink hair was slowly flickering red like a candle flame and for a split second he wanted to touch and examine it.

"I make no promises Hermione. I very well will bite if I need to." Tonks spoke with a threatening undertone and he didn't miss the glare she was sending his way.

That voice in his head that sounded so like his father's - the voice that had told him to call Hermione a _Mudblood -_ practically rejoiced at her choice of words. She made it so easy for him to slip in a good taunt about werewolves and her recent taking up with one.

With a small deal of effort, he ignored the bullying voice and offered a small smile. "I'm sure you would. Though there is no reason to do so today."

"Isn't there? What are you doing here with Hermione Granger of all people?" He winced slightly at the bite in her tone but expected nothing less. Tonks rested one hand near her wand while she kept moving her eyes from his face to their hands. Draco was slightly embarrassed when he felt the sweat forming in his palms.

Hermione cleared her throat then so her friend could focus on her. She smiled when Tonks' stony glare softened when directed at her. "We were getting some treats."

"Hermione...you know full well that your ass should be in class right now."

Draco grinned slightly at the maternal tone and at the fact that Hermione turned a bit pale. "I know, but...Well today...Um. You see...I..." She stuttered a few times, not sure how to word it.

Tonks stared at her for a few seconds with a raised brow, then it was as if an idea hit her and her eyes widened. "What did you do to her?" She growled the question directed at Draco and her hair turned a shade of red.

Releasing a harsh breath, Draco shook his head quickly. "I haven't done anything to her."

"Bullshit. I know you and what you're capable of! Why the hell would Hermione be out of school with _you_ while holding your bloody hand?! _What_ did you do to her?!" Tonks' voice slowly rose in volume and the few people that were milling about turned to gawk at the display.

Hermione tensed for a moment before getting in between them, "Tonks! Honestly, he hasn't done anything. Today was just really bad and -"

"Like I'll believe that." Tonks interrupted and her jaw tensed. For a quick moment, she reminded Draco of his mother. "You never miss school Hermione. And you'd never be out with the likes of him."

Draco felt his anger flare, "Look, I get you hate me and that's fine. But I haven't done anything to force her to be standing here with me. If anyone pushed her out of the castle, it was Weasley."

Tonks was about to argue further but Hermione held her hand up to silence her. "I'll explain later, alright? You can patrol tonight and stop by the common room." She quirked her eyebrows for a moment and amended, "Or better yet, meet me in the library. But honest, Malfoy hasn't done a thing wrong all day."

The now slowly turning pink haired witch crossed her arms and stared hard at her friend, "You mean to tell me that you're not under any...spell or curse?"

Draco rolled his eyes and couldn't help but feel offended by the accusation. Before he could say anything, Hermione squeezed his hand - somehow knowing that he was about to be cheeky.

"I'm not under any spells. I can actually think for myself and decide that maybe I would like to spend the day out of school and with a few Slytherins. Is that so bad?" Hermione asked with a bite to her tone.

Tonks continued to stare and pursed her lips before glancing around at the few people still watching, "We'll talk about this later." She promised her before moving her eyes to her young cousin. "If you even think of hurting her, I'll kill you myself."

With those lovely words in the air, she turned and shooed the nosy people away and walked down the street. Draco was sure that she was only going far enough away so they wouldn't see the Disillusionment Charm or invisibility cloak she used to follow them.

"Well that was nice." Hermione sighed and turned back to look at him. "Sorry about that."

He shrugged, "Why should you apologize? She is my cousin after all." The words felt foreign on his tongue. He never openly acknowledged her as his family before. It was odd...

She looked at him in surprise for a moment before nodding, "I forgot that...Well her threatening you just became a bit more awkward."

He was confused and cocked his head to the side, "Why? It's not like we're close. I think this is the first time we even met, no matter how informal and tense it was."

Something formed in her eyes, he couldn't tell if it was sadness or pity, but she shrugged. "I just mean that...well family members usually don't threaten each other's lives."

He smiled at her words, "Have you met mine? My Aunt Bellatrix killed her own cousin. And she wouldn't think twice about killing me if she knew..." He stopped himself before he could reveal anything more. "We aren't a close knit family."

He could tell that she was intrigued and before she could ask anything about it, he pulled her hand and led her into the shop. "Let's go buy your lollies and then I'll take you to the shrieking shack. That place is loads of fun."

She could tell that he was trying to distract her from his near mishap. Thankfully for him, she allowed him to pull her and they began to shop with an auror not far behind them.


	7. Chapter 6

Hermione sat in the quietest corner of the library and felt safe.

When she returned to the castle, plenty of people were giving her the evil eye and the select few that weren't just ignored her completely.

She had never felt so ostracized before. It was quite disheartening and she sprinted to the library as fast as her legs would allow.

Harry nor Ron had come to see her yet. That is, if they were even looking for her. She hadn't seen her new Slytherin friends yet either though she doubted Pansy and Blaise were going to step foot in this particular room - or anywhere for that matter - anytime soon.

Especially after their talk moments before they came back to the castle.

 _"The Shrieking Shack is probably my favorite place in Hogsmeade." Draco said as they slowly made their way down the road leading to the rumored haunted house._

 _Hermione smiled and took a bite of her chocolate frog. "I like its history." She murmured around the sweet and blushed as the candy reminded her of what Draco had said in Honeydukes._

 _Draco glanced at her and then looked to be in deep thought. She noticed that a small wrinkle appeared between his brows and she fought the sudden urge to massage it away._

 _Then suddenly, he seemed to have realized that she said something and snapped out of his reverie. "I don't think I've ever heard about the history of it. I just know it's haunted." He murmured while slowing his pace now that they were standing in front of the fence lining the property._

 _Hermione couldn't help but giggle. "It's not though. It never was haunted. It's actually a really amazing story." She sighed and felt a pang of sadness as she thought of the friends that used to spend so much time in that place. "Dumbledore let Professor Lupin stay in there during the full moons when he was attending school."_

 _She watched as he processed that and he looked confused. "This whole time it was him?"_

 _"Yep. Harry's dad, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew eventually came with him and helped him." She explained and shoved her chocolate frog wrapper into her pocket. "They were really close back then."_

 _Now, Draco looked even more confused. "How could they help him when they were just kids?"_

 _"They became Animagi for him when they were, I think, thirteen. It apparently helped him stay calm and not hurt himself." She looked thoughtful for a moment and smiled. "There's a way to get to it, through the Whomping Willow."_

 _She doubted Harry would mind if she took Malfoy there just for curiousity's sake._

 _Suddenly, Draco chuckled and popped a few Bertie Bott's beans in his mouth. "I was about to ask how you knew all this, but I forgot you're Potter's favorite witch. This place is part of his history then, isn't it?"_

 _She laughed with him and shrugged. "I guess so."_

 _"Would you show me how to get into the shack?"_

 _Before she could answer him, two voices sounded from behind them. "Malfoy, you little prick!"_

 _They both turned and Hermione laughed when she saw Blaise with his arm around Pansy's shoulders. "Make up then, did you?"_

 _"No thanks to you two." Pansy stuck out her tongue._

 _Hermione grunted indignantly, "I didn't do anything!"_

 _Blaise rolled his eyes and moved close enough to land a solid punch on Draco's shoulder._

 _"Ow!" Draco exclaimed making Hermione laugh. "For fucks sake, Zabini!"_

 _Blaise grinned and mussed Hermione's hair. "Now we're even."_

 _Draco stared at his best friend for a moment and then to Pansy with a raised brow. "It's done? You guys are okay?"_

 _"Yes. Of course. Now let's go back to the castle. I'm about ready to get in bed." Pansy smirked and Draco made a disgusted face._

 _Hermione cocked her head to the side and frowned. "But it's barely three in the afternoon."_

 _Her naive words made the other three laugh and Draco leaned over to whisper in her ear. "They aren't planning on going to sleep anytime soon, Granger."_

 _It took Hermione a moment to understand, but when she did, Draco couldn't help but smile as understanding then disgust crossed her features. "Oh! Well fuck."_

 _"That's exactly the plan." Blaise laughed._

 _Draco laughed with him while thinking to himself that as unladylike as cursing was, it sounded rather appealing rolling off Granger's tongue._

 _Pansy rolled her eyes and moved away from Blaise. "Granger. If you're going to be spending time with us..." She took a few steps and laced her arm around Hermione's waist. "You are going to have to keep up. My goodness, you prudish Gryffindors."_

 _Hermione muttered a remark under her breath as she allowed Pansy to lead her away and the four made their way back to the castle._

"Penny for your thoughts." A voice pulled Hermione from her memories of the day and she looked up, startled to see Tonks standing in front of her. "Wotcher."

She greeted her with a smile, "I didn't see you there."

"Evidently." Tonks smirked and sat across from her. "Now. What the hell was that today?"

"So, we're just jumping in then..." Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes, her friend was not beating around the bush. "It is in a way very complicated. And it sort of just happened..."

Her words must've sounded like an absurd insinuation because Tonks paled and her eyes were as wide as saucers. "Hermione Jean Granger, you are not sleeping with my shit cousin are you?!"

With a gasp, Hermione quickly looked around the vast room and was relieved that no one had been around to hear her. "Oh my gosh! Be quiet!" She blushed and Tonks' eyes grew impossibly wider.

"Well, fuck Hermione, you're not denying it!"

Squeezing her eyes shut, she quickly shook her head. " _No!_ We aren't sleeping together. Today was just...I had a really shitty day and Malfoy was there. As a friend. Or possible friend..."

She stared down at the desk and thought of how he had held her and let her cry...of how he had rubbed her back soothingly...of the tingly shocks that went up her arm when she held his hand...Today had been quite odd but in a good way for once.

"Malfoy. Draco bloody Malfoy was a friend to you?" Tonks asked skeptically and she reached over and nudged Hermione's jaw upward so she could look her in the eye. "If you needed that git as a friend then something really bad must have happened today... Talk to me, Hermione..."

Hermione looked up at the kindhearted witch who was so like a sister to her and relief swam through her, making her shoulders sag. "Ron hates me. And so does most of the school. I did something and screwed it all up. The beginning of today sucked."

"Ron adores you..." Tonks reassured her and placed her hand on Hermione's wrist. "We've all known that for so long."

She couldn't help but laugh, "Ron and I haven't been close in a while. It's partly my fault for hating Lavender." Tonks' brows furrowed at the name and Hermione gave in to the urge to roll her eyes. "Lavender Brown; Ron's girlfriend. She's bloody annoying and I may have gotten angry and accidentally thrown them both onto the Ravenclaw table..."

"Oh so that's what McGonagall was talking about." The pink haired witch mused. "I overheard her say something about accidental magic being practically unheard of in the higher years."

Hermione cringed and dropped her head on to the table to hide her blush. "Leave it to me to excel in something like that. How bloody embarrassing!"

"Hey, nothing can beat the sheer embarrassment of falling down moving staircases with Charlie bloody Weasley laughing his ass off." Tonks cringed at the memory. "You just pushed a guy who happens to be your friend." Then she laughed suddenly. "Funnily enough, you pushed Charlie's brother."

Hermione wanted to laugh but then she recalled what Ron called her and felt sad again - if he were a friend, he wouldn't have said that...

Tonks was unaware of her mood change and carried on. "As payback, I told him in front of his friends to meet me in the girl's bathroom - Moaning Myrtle's bathroom - for some fun. After some urging from those guys, he came running in and I summoned his clothes, save for his underwear, and locked him in there."

That made Hermione look up in shock. "Are you serious? You and Charlie...?"

"Oh nothing happened. Actually, I don't think Charlie ever had anyone. His friends even forced him to go after me that day." She shrugged.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief - that would've been too weird. "Oh...So how are things with you and Remus?" She wanted to steer the focus on her so she wouldn't have to think about the youngest Weasley brother.

At that, Tonks rolled her eyes and caught that she was avoiding something. "He's not as smooth as my ass of a cousin, I'll tell you that."

"What?" She furrowed her brow in confusion. _What did Draco have to do with anything?_

With a smirk, Tonks mocked Draco's voice dramatically. _"You're the only person to make biting on chocolate frogs look adorable, Granger."_

Hermione's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. _NO! She didn't!_ "You little eavesdropper! You were there?!" She gasped and felt horrified.

Quickly, she began to go through exactly what they had said and felt heat spread across her face.

"Of course! I started to follow you the moment you two walked off." Tonks laughed. "That's why I thought that the two of you were sleeping together. You two acted flirty enough."

Hermione kept shaking her head while remembering exactly what it was that Tonks had heard.

 _With a childish squeal, Hermione ran up to the part of the aisle that held an assortment of chocolates and she grabbed a handful of her favorite - chocolate frogs._

 _Draco watched her with amused fascination as she grabbed five packages and then literally skipped down to another aisle looking for sugar quills. She seemed to not have a care in the world as she summoned a trolley and placed her treats in it then went to find more._

 _"Aren't you getting anything?" Hermione asked while reaching for an extra chocolate frog and opened it right there. She gestured to the wizard behind the counter to let him know that she'd pay and then she bit into it._

 _Draco nodded slowly and reached for a couple sugar quills while still watching her eat. He looked deep in thought and she was about to ask what was on his mind when he spoke._

 _He smiled and said, "I'm going to tell you something and if you ever tell Blaise or Pansy, I'll deny it until my dying day."_

 _That intrigued her and she looked at him while still chewing. "What? You fancy the Gryffindor colored lollipops?" She asked with a playful smirk and his heart lurched a bit._

 _He was starting to think that he fancied something..._

 _"No...But...You're the only person to make biting on chocolate frogs look adorable, Granger."_

 _She paused while reaching for a cauldron cake and her eyes grew wide. "You think I'm adorable?" She gulped._

 _He had a flirty smirk and walked toward her. She felt her heart begin to race as he reached out and took the sweet from her frozen hand. "I know it's odd to hear from me...even odd to think, but...why should I lie to myself?" He took a deep breath that made her skin tingle in anticipation. "You're...stunning, Granger."_

 _Hermione had no idea what to say but the blush staining her cheeks said enough. She smiled and nodded, "Th-That's...That's not something I hear every day."_

 _"Well, you should." Draco grinned back and then grabbed a few extra cauldron cakes. "You can have all the frogs, I'll take the cauldrons." He sounded so nonchalant, like he didn't just reveal that he found her attractive._

 _It was both thrilling and scary - Hermione had to shake her head a few times to gather her senses and follow him._

"That was private." Hermione whispered harshly to Tonks. "Why would you listen in?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, "I was making sure you weren't Imperiused or something. Sorry for caring. But, how long have you two been talking?"

"Just started this morning." Hermione replied shortly, choosing to look down at the desk and open a textbook.

That made Tonks' brow raise, "And he's already said that? A bit quick, isn't it?"

Hermione made a face and looked at her friend with pursed lips, "No...Maybe. I don't know."

"I mean..." Tonks rested her elbow against the table and began to nibble on her thumbnail, "As much of a beautiful girl you are, for Malfoy of all people to tell you...Can you trust him? Or should I have someone try and look into it? See if maybe he's up to something."

Shaking her head, Hermione felt the need to defend him. "He's not. Just, a lot happened today. I mean..." With a deep sigh, she scratched the back of her neck and whispered. "After what happened with Ron and Lavender, I ran to the girl's bathroom and Malfoy was there." She glanced around the relatively empty library and leaned in closer. "He said some things that made me realize he's not what we thought he was..."

Tonks leaned in as well and her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? Last I heard, Harry assumed he was a Death Eater..." She whispered back. "Even Remus is starting to believe it..."

"That's what I'm talking about." Hermione carried on, wetting her lips nervously. "He doesn't sound like a Death Eater. He..." She stopped and realized that she didn't want to share exactly what he had told her. It had seemed...special. "He proved it to me - that he's not like them."

The sincerity in the young witch's eyes made Tonks wonder if perhaps Harry had it wrong. "Are you sure?"

Hermione shrugged minutely and glanced down, "I think so. Give me time to figure it out."

Tonks nodded in agreement but silently vowed to ask Moody and Dumbledore to allow her to stick around the grounds and keep an eye on things.

* * *

Hermione's nerves were at an all time high as she knocked against the painted Fat Lady in an effort to get her attention. She had made it through the corridors and up the moving staircases without running into anyone she knew.

No drama, no glares, no shoves. It had almost been a perfect escape. Until the damned painting wouldn't open her bloody eyes to hear the password and allow her into her dorms.

And the painted witch was doing it on purpose.

"I know you're awake you vile woman! Now open the door!" Hermione growled and knocked against the painting's surface. " _Balderdash_!"

She counted to ten and was about to send a hex when the painting sprung to life and looked beyond Hermione. "Honestly, hurry up!" The moving portrait called out, "She's becoming quite the pest."

The sound of footsteps hurrying down the hall made her stomach do anxious flips and she turned to find the two boys she'd been meaning to avoid. _Wonderful. Just wonderful._

"We told her that if she saw you, to stall you until we got here." Harry explained as he strode toward her with his hands in his robe pockets. His next words mixed with the angry eyes of Ron Weasley invoked such an angered ripple within her that she considered giving a warning. "We wanted to talk..."

Hermione couldn't help the sardonic laugh that bubbled out of her mouth. "And you honestly thought I'd want to speak to you?" Her steely eyes moved to the redhead that had his own lip curled in distaste. "Especially _you_? After what happened today, I was prepared to never hear you speak to me again."

She knew she was being uncharacteristically cruel but his slip of the tongue earlier in the day still stung deep inside, like a constantly bleeding wound. And the flinch that her words caused made her petty and vindictive side just a little bit joyous.

"Don't act like you're innocent. You're the one who attacked me!" Ron spat out angrily, his ears once again turning a shade of red that matched his hair. "And then ran off with those Slytherin prats!"

Harry's jaw set as Ron mentioned her choice in company and she rolled her eyes. "That's why we wanted to talk Hermione-"

"Why _you_ wanted to talk." Ron muttered under his breath and crossed his arms.

Both chose to ignore his comment and Harry slowly walked up to the witch until he passed her by and gave the painted woman the password. "Let's sit inside and talk...Please?"

Hermione weighed the pros and cons as the portrait slowly swung open to allow them to pass and licked her front teeth in thought. She knew that her blood pressure would surely rise from whatever conversation her friends would try to have with her - Ron especially would anger her - and she was positive that she wouldn't hold her tongue. Did she really care if she hurt their feelings? They had no qualms hurting hers.

Then she also wanted to ask Harry why he had treated her so harshly after this morning and why Ron had called her a _Mudblood_ in the first place. She wasn't entirely sure she'd like the answers they'd give but what else could she do but follow them?

The painted woman began to whine about dawdling children and Hermione rushed through the hole in the wall after the two boys.

* * *

Draco stood outside the dungeons and leaned against the wall to steady his erratic breathing. He wasn't too sure what it was to have a panic attack but the numbness of his limbs and the erratic thumps in his chest were telling.

He had hoped that the extended outing with his friends and Granger mixed with the copious amounts of alcohol would chase away the feelings that had presented themselves in him but he had been so wrong.

The moment he spotted the dungeons leading to the Slytherin quarters, the second he heard the painful cries from within, everything came rushing back and he didn't know how to rid himself of it all. The guilt and shame and terror and panic all melded together in his head and heart and he was left gasping.

Several first and second years had already passed him by and he was uncaring if they saw him sweating and gulping down air as if he just took laps in the black lake. All he could focus on was the broken yet muffled sobs of Daphne Greengrass and the taunting memories of Astoria's mutilated body.

A gasp escaped him when someone stepped in front of him and he blinked hard as he realized that tears clouded his vision.

Theodore Nott was the type of man that hated conflict and any form of non-peace and hated when anyone was in distress. Which is what made him quite an amazing friend.

Draco could recall the one time Lucius had hit Narcissa the Muggle way in front of him and the amount of terror and sorrow that spread through him. He had been nine years old and is father had glared at Narcissa and him both. Draco had been so upset that he ran down to the Nott estate - Theo had listened to him cry and hugged him.

And now here they were again. Draco was a mess of emotions and Theo was there with his kind and caring eyes.

"You alright, mate?" The familiar, deep voice asked with concern.

It took a surprising amount of effort to control his ragged breaths enough for him to shrug. "I can't- I don't think I can breathe."

Theo sighed in understanding before leaning against the wall beside him. "You _can_ breathe. It's a panic attack. Daph's been having them all day..."

Draco squeezed his eyes shut tight at the mention of Astoria's distraught sister. If he were in a calmer state of mind, he would've been highly embarrassed by the whining sound that made its way up and out of his throat.

Again, Theo understood perfectly. "This is about Astoria..." He stated sadly. "I read the letter You-Know-Who sent. It's not your fault, Draco."

A cynical laugh was his only response. Of course it was his fault. He had failed to appease the Dark Lord one too many times and Astoria paid the price. It didn't matter that he had it wrong and she wasn't the one Draco loved most - it mattered that her absence was felt. It mattered that she was an innocent in all of this. It mattered that he still lost a friend and that Daphne lost her sister.

"She deserved better. She deserves to be alive. It should've been me." Draco wasn't even aware that the words poured out of his mouth until his friend scoffed and pushed himself away from the wall.

Theo seemed to be struggling with what to say but the storm in his blue eyes spoke volumes. He seemed angry and scared all at once. Then suddenly, he raised his wand and Draco recognized the air trickle with a silencing charm.

"No fucking shit she deserves to be alive. So do you. The only one that deserves to die is the piece of shit that's doing all this killing." He ranted with his hands balled into fists. "He's ruining our world and our families. Daphne is a damned mess - been crying all day and vomiting any drink or bite of food she has. Do you think it doesn't hurt me too? It's killing me inside that she's in so much pain and he's out there hurting more people. _He_ deserves to die."

Draco couldn't help but agree while he looked down to his feet. "What if..." A heavy sigh escaped him as he asked the question he was afraid of being answered. "What if it's me...doing the killing? Wouldn't I deserve to die then?"

Theo froze as he tried to make sense of his friend's words.

The blond wizard counted to five before he raised his eyes and felt a strange sense of sorrow as he read the fear in the brunette's eyes.

"I haven't yet." He felt the need to explain. "I swear I haven't. That's why...That's why he punished me by killing Astoria."

Only then did Theo relax slightly. "Get out, Draco. Whatever it is he's trying to make you do, don't. And get out of it. Get out of the whole organization."

Draco scrunched his face up in pain and crossed his arms tight across his abdomen. "Don't you think I've thought about it? Don't you think I want to? Especially now. But I can't. I'm trapped."

"There has to be a way."

He knew the only way he could get out and it was terrifying to even think about. But not as terrifying as the thought of taking someone's life.

"There has to be a way for what?" A voice sounded from a few feet away from the pair of Slytherins - making both of them jump.

Draco looked around and could see no one standing by until the air shimmered and his pink haired cousin appeared leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face. "Boo."

Theo tensed when the witch appeared and he lifted his wand - Draco assumed it was to remove the silencing charm he had set in place. "How did you hear us? And who are you?"

"She's my cousin." Draco supplied while he quickly wiped his hands against his face to hide any tears that he may have shed.

"Unfortunately. And I can read lips, you know." Tonks explained with an eye roll. "Now, what's this about a way for something?"

With his mask of indifference in place, Draco shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about."

Theo raised his hands as Tonks' expression darkened with anger and he slowly backed away. "We'll talk some more later, Malfoy."

"You better fucking tell me." Tonks ground out between her teeth.

He looked at her and considered it. If he confided in her - if he told her that he had a very difficult task set by Voldemort himself - what would happen? It would, in a way, be him telling the entire Order about Voldemort's plan and then what would that mean for him? For his family? There was something there in her eyes, behind the anger and loathing, and he wondered if he could trust whatever was there.

Maybe...

The fear gripped his heart at the prospect of betraying the Darkest wizard in the world and he forced a mask of annoyance. "Don't pretend you care about me."

"I don't." She said after a few short seconds and he wished that the words didn't cause a sharp pain in his chest. "I do care about Hermione, though."

Her name caused him to freeze for a moment before he caught himself. With a great smirk, Draco looked around the hallway. "Oh, is she here? I hadn't noticed."

He could tell that she was growing more and more impatient with him and, again, he wondered what they would have been like if their parents had let them grow up together. Would they have been this annoyed with each other? Would they instead be laughing together? Would they hug when the other needed comfort or cry when life got to be too much?

In an instant, he hated his parents. He hated his father. He hated his grandparents. He hated all of those that tore him apart from his cousin before they even had a chance to meet and become family. Damn all the prejudices.

Her biting voice broke him from his thoughts and he was left reeling - the mask falling without him realizing. "Oh come off it." She took notice of the haunted look in his eyes and faltered for just a moment. "Whatever is going on with you, it somehow involves her. So spill." Then a smirk formed on her soft face. "Or I'll just make you drink some Veritaserum."

He couldn't help but laugh and crossed his arms - the mask slipping back in place. "What makes you think this has anything to do with Granger? And I doubt you'd want to force an underage wizard to consume an illegal potion just to sate your curiousity."

"Malfoy, if you won't tell me, I promise you I'll find out."

The hard set to her jaw told him that she wasn't bluffing and he wondered if she was going to keep spying on him or if she was serious about her threat of Veritaserum. He was about to reply when they both heard someone approaching.

The slow and deliberate steps and the billowing of heavy robes made both cousins pause and reach for their wands. It went silent then Tonks screamed.

* * *

"If you'd both please hurry up and get on with it, that would be wonderful. I really would like to go to bed." Hermione grumbled as the stirrings of her headache began to intensify.

The sobering charm Blaise had placed on her had seemed to be losing its strength and her irritation with the two boys in front of her weren't helping matters in the slightest. With a small groan, she reached up and massaged her forehead.

"Bed? It's nearly six o'clock." Ron questioned with a furrowed brow. It wasn't lost on her that he mirrored what she had said to Pansy and Blaise not too long ago - oh how she wished she had the same reason for wanting to get in bed as they did.

"I'm tired. Now hurry up." She barked and Harry was the only one to flinch as he took his seat in the armchair across from her.

Ron rolled his eyes and crossed his arms while leaning back against the cushions of sofa. "Harry thinks that I ought to apologize to you." The way he said it gave Hermione the impression that he couldn't care less about sitting in front of her.

Big mistake. She ground her teeth and pursed her lips while shaking her head. "Oh well, _of course_ I'll accept your apology now."

"I never said I was going to give it."

Harry huffed in either agitation or shock, Hermione couldn't be sure. "Ron, stop being a fucking prick and tell her what you told me."

With a brow arched in confusion, Hermione looked at the redhead with an intense glare. A part of her relished in the fact that Ron seemed to have flinched under her scrutiny.

Before she could get a good read on him, his eyes changed to showcase his anger and dare she say disgust as his lip curled back and he sneered. "Why should I tell her anything? No matter what I said, she still went gallivanting with those pompous and racist bastards all around -"

"Don't you dare talk about them that way!" She practically growled and surprised all three of them. It had been sheer instinct to defend the trio from such an assumption - one that she had had only just this morning.

Spending only a few hours with them had proven to her that they weren't what she had thought. Perhaps none of the Slytherins were. They seemed accepting of her enough and Pansy had even thought of her as becoming a permanent fixture in their group. They had defended her honor, if Hermione could even call it that, when Ron had used the slur himself. They may be pompous, but racist was now extremely far fetched.

"What did they do to you? Curse you?" Harry asked with a look of worry.

Ron actually laughed. "My guess is Malfoy did the moment he walked passed us at the Lake. I wouldn't be surprised. I bet he had you all giggly and drooling while calling you a Mudblood."

That damned word again.

She could feel a twitch in her eye and her headache getting worse. Hermione abruptly stood and walked toward the staircase leading to her room. "If you two imbeciles bothered to notice, they actually punched and cursed _you,_ Ronald, when _you_ called _me_ a Mudblood. They hadn't called me that in all the time we were out today." And just in case Harry still thought she was under the Imperius, she turned to glare at them over her shoulder. "Ask Tonks, she was there."

With a swift turn of her head, her wild curls whipped around her and she didn't bother to look behind her as she stomped up the stairs - leaving behind two very confused and extremely ticked off boys.

* * *

"You just had to be an ass, right?" Harry snapped at the fuming redhead after hearing Hermione's bedroom door slam shut. "You couldn't have just told her that _you_ weren't calling her that, but saying what _they_ always call her?! You couldn't bite back your damned temper for five bloody minutes to explain that at all?!"

The whole time Harry had his mini-rant, Ron stared at the ground and balled his hands into tight fists. His anger made his thoughts jumble in circles and he couldn't make sense of anything that had happened today no matter how hard he tried.

"That's all you had to do! It was simple! ' _Sorry, Hermione. I never meant to use that bloody slur against you! I was only trying to make you see that those Slytherins were the racists but you misunderstood! I'm so so sorry!'_ See how easy that was?! But, _no!_ You just had to be a stubborn asshole and carry on."

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do?! She skipped off school grounds with Malfoy on her arm and it pissed me off! I'm not going to just let that go!" Ron growled while jumping from his seat to begin pacing the floor. "Hermione wouldn't just leave with him! Or Pansy fucking Parkinson and Blaise Zabini!"

Harry couldn't help but agree with him. He didn't want to let it go either but he had wanted her to know that they didn't think of her as a Mudblood! That was the main point at the moment. After that mess was dealt with, then he could ask questions about Malfoy. "I know, Ron! I bloody know that she wouldn't and we'll figure out what the hell is going on but you hurt Hermione today!"

"Like she didn't hurt me." He scoffed.

The swinging portrait opened and Harry's heart skipped a beat when Ginny stepped over the threshold with a look of confusion. "Want to tell me why I saw Tonks stomping around the halls looking like she was on a mission to kick some ass?"

Her words and small smile towards him made the incredible urge to strangle her brother disappear.

* * *

"Oh, Sweetheart, I didn't know my scars were that terrifying." A familiar man laughed as he stepped out of the shadows. Remus Lupin hadn't changed a bit, Draco thought to himself, except now he didn't appear to be as tall as he had those few short years ago.

Draco couldn't help but feel a hint of fear upon seeing the werewolf's smiling and scarred face. He hoped the pair hadn't seen him tighten his grip on his wand before he forced himself to put it away. The former professor was no threat, after all.

"What are you doing here?" Tonks questioned after she caught her breath and stowed away her own wand.

Wanting to slip away without them noticing, Draco took one slow step backwards and felt a small hint of accomplishment at the fact that his robes had made no noise. He only had to get past the dungeons' threshold and they wouldn't be able to follow him - neither were Slytherins.

"I got your owl about sticking around and figured I could tag along." Remus smiled and looked over at the pale blond's retreating form. "And what were you two up to?"

Tonks turned her head and her loving gaze changed back to the glare Draco was coming to be familiar with. Without him realizing, she muttered a quick spell and his feet could no longer move. "We were discussing something I overheard and -"

"You said you didn't hear anything." Draco argued as he struggled to free himself of her jinx. "Let me go."

"No." She spoke in a bored voice. "And you know what I meant, Malfoy." Turning back to her boyfriend, she carried on. "We were discussing what I overheard and he was being a stubborn ass. He won't tell me a damn thing."

Draco, grunting with the effort to break free, narrowed his eyes. "Oh, being such must be a family trait." He recalled her first name and smirked. "It's so obvious with you, Nymphie."

"Bite me." She snapped at him and her hair flickered red.

Remus only laughed in amusement at their small exchange and put his hands in his pockets. "May I use that nickname from time to time?"

"You may call me Dora and that is it. Call me anything else and it'll be the last thing you say before I rip out your tongue." She threatened and fought the urge to laugh.

"Duly noted." Remus chuckled then looked at her young cousin and grinned. "I think you should let him go, Dora. Whatever it was you heard, I don't think jinxing him in place will help you find anything out."

Draco found himself smirking back at the werewolf and nodded. "I agree wholeheartedly. I _do_ have some studying to do. We wouldn't want Snape to find out you're interrupting that."

Tonks rolled her eyes and waved a hand to release him. "I'm not afraid of Snape. But this isn't over, you little shit."

" _Sure_ you aren't." He quipped before practically running down into the dungeons.

Remus counted to ten until he saw the red morphed back into pink and rested his hands on Tonks' shoulders. She was still staring at the space her cousin had occupied and she was gnawing on her lower lip. "What's wrong?"

"I heard...I heard what he and that other boy were saying." Tonks whispered as she brought her eyes to his. "And I didn't like it one bit."

* * *

 **I'm so sorry for the extreme lateness of this update. My personal life has been in shambles and I've been an utter mess. My beloved dog died and it put me in a very dark place. I'm only now slowly coming out of it and starting to write again.**

 **I hope you enjoy this and please leave kind reviews as they do make me smile and push myself to write more for you.**

 **\- klutzy**


	8. Chapter 7

Ron wanted to shove the fork he was holding deep into his ear as his painfully loud girlfriend carried on with her ranting.

It was strange how only six months prior, he had thought he was so in love with Lavender Brown. He had loved her for months and thought he'd love her for years. He faked an interest in divination for her. He had even defended her to his best friends... _friend_. He defended her to Harry. And then he blew up and made the biggest mistake he could have ever made.

He lost Hermione because he had gotten so angry that she hated her. Yet now, as she prattled on about her favorite professor's latest claim of the future, he realized just _why_ Hermione hated her so much. Now, he wanted nothing more than to be rid of her. He once loved her and everything about her, but something obviously changed.

He just didn't know what that change was exactly.

Well, he had an inkling of what happened.

More than an inkling, really.

But there was no way he was going to admit it. Not when the witch that he knew held his heart was so busy laughing three tables away.

He had called her a traitor a few weeks ago, then got a good smack in the head from their new Muggle studies professor. But that's exactly what she was. She had left their group so fast - granted, he hadn't exactly made it easy for her to stick around with them - and fell into perfect step with them. She - a former member of Dumbledore's Army and a budding Order member - was with the group of future Death Eaters. A traitor indeed.

She had barely even looked at him once since that day - no, it was all about Malfoy and his cronies now. She was caught laughing and hugging on that group more times than he cared to admit. It was disgusting.

Ginny had spoken to her, of that he was sure. He had walked in on them with their heads close together, their whispers had halted the moment they saw him. His sister had seemed annoyed and Hermione...she had looked angry and disappointed. She had glanced at him and bustled away with clenched fists before he could say a word.

He fought the urge to look over to where he just knew Hermione was sitting across from her new friends in the green robes. He couldn't bear to see her looking like the people seated beside her hadn't bullied her for years. He didn't want to chance her meeting his gaze and showing him her empty eyes. It physically hurt him to see that they no longer held the caring softness that he had grown so accustomed to - and taken for granted - over the years.

" _Won Won_...You haven't listened to a word I've been saying, have you?" Lavender's sudden sharp question had jolted him from his thoughts.

Rather than staring blankly at his plate, Ron forced himself to focus on the irate girl by his side and shook his head. "No, I have. You were talking about how -" He faltered for a moment, glancing at Harry, who was seated across from him. His best mate shook his head quickly to tell him that he had tuned her out as well. "How...How Trelawney predicted the next ice age. No, the next Quidditch win or something."

Ginny, who was seated so close to Harry that she may as well have been on his lap, laughed loudly and shook her head. "Oh, here we go." She quipped towards Harry before looking down at her plate of eggs.

Ron chanced a glance at his girlfriend and gulped as he saw the glare set in her features. "...Right?"

"You're an ass, Ronald Weasley. I think I'll be carrying my own books from now on." She seethed before grabbing her bookbag that was set against his side and storming away from him.

"What the fuck?" Ron grumbled in confusion after a few beats of silence.

Harry tried his best to hide his laughter behind a piece of toast while Ginny resumed her own loud laughter and spoke her mind. "Maybe now she'll stop sitting with us. I can't fucking stand her."

 _That makes two of us._

"I think she just dumped you, mate." Harry said around a bite of toast.

Ginny dramatically clasped her hands together and looked up to the bewitched ceiling. "Merlin, please, let it be the end of the longest eight months of my life."

Ron contemplated what that would mean and frowned. If it was the end, he was somewhat relieved because he couldn't stomach another day with her. He understood why everyone in school broke up after a short time together - they became annoying after the honeymoonish phase.

The only bad part about it was that he had still lost Hermione. Even if Lavender was out of the picture, he very much doubted that Hermione would forgive him for treating her the way that he did. She hated him as much as he had made it look like he hated her; and that caused a small pain in the center of his chest

"You know...I think she'll forgive you in no time and you'll be right back to the way you were." Harry reassured when he saw the distress in his best friend's eyes and for a split second, he thought that he was reading his thoughts and referring to Hermione.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Right back to annoying the fuck out of us all with your snogging."

Ron muttered obscenely under his breath and turned to catch a glimpse of Hermione. His heart lurched in his chest when he saw Malfoy's arm around her shoulders and watched her laugh and lean into his side.

* * *

"Is Daphne going to be joining us for breakfast today?" Pansy asked Theo softly. Draco and Blaise, who had been in a discussion about arithmancy homework, looked up to hear the answer.

Since her sister's grisly murder, Daphne had become a recluse. They rarely saw her leave her dorms - only for class, and even then she'd skip classes half the time. Theo had brought her notes and homework assignments like a well bred owl and the professors had not batted an eye - McGonagall and Snape both told the group of Slytherins that she needed time to grieve.

Draco felt intense guilt despite the fact that he knew it wasn't his fault. But still, the young witch blamed him - had said so herself - and a part of him did too.

"No. I had a house elf take up a plate of food for her, though." Theo spoke with a deep rooted sadness that he hid well throughout the day from everyone except them. "I'm sure she'll join us soon..."

No one in the group had the heart to tell him that he'd been saying that for weeks. No one had the heart to say anything.

The air was heavy as Hermione walked up and sat in the empty space beside Draco. She could sense that something had been said and frowned. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing too thrilling." Draco answered simply, burying his own sadness then offered her a small but genuine smile. "Nice to see you again, Granger."

It had been a short six months, yet at the same time it felt like ages. Hermione had spent so many days with the people seated around her - especially with Draco - that there was very little awkwardness between them and she felt like she belonged with them. The past had been buried, apologies given, changes known and she now felt like she'd been their friends since first year.

Pansy had hugged her freely whenever Ron gave them intense dirty looks - which was often. And on their way to class or to the dining hall, she would link arms with her and they'd talk about their days.

Having Pansy as a friend was refreshing to say the least. Luna was never the type to gossip or actually converse with her, she'd rather prattle on about non-existent creatures. Whereas, Ginny would rather rant about the guys and girls she found attractive and, of course, Quidditch. Pansy was what she had imagined a friend would be when she was younger and she loved it. It surprised her to realize that she'd grown to love the witch.

Blaise had made her laugh out loud in classes more times than she cared to admit. He was the type that loved to see her squirm in embarrassment. She saw him as the big brother that she never really wanted but loved all the same. He vaguely reminded her of George and Fred with their prankster mindsets.

Theo was the perfect gentleman and enjoyed making her friends seethe with anger by holding her books whenever he could - which was when Daphne was absent and his hands were free - and giving her chaste kisses on the cheek when Ron and Harry openly glared at them.

Then there was Draco.

Draco had been the strangest of the bunch. He was strange in the sense that she had gotten on with him so well. After that day in Hogsmeade, they'd spent time together during class, of course, but also in the library after school hours. He was quite intellectual and helped her with homework sometimes, which was the complete opposite of Ron and Harry.

They talked, just as they had that day in the bathrooms, and it was strange. They'd gone years with hating each other and arguing yet that one day changed something. He had changed and she wasn't sure why. She'd even asked him about it, and his answer had been shocking.

 _It was late in the library, three weeks after they'd gone to Hogsmeade. The pair had a number of thick volumes surrounding them on the ground after they wandered the room to evade the annoying librarian._

 _They'd been sitting in the vast room for hours now and had already told Pansy and Blaise to stop pestering them to sneak off grounds. Hermione had said that just because they snuck her off grounds that one day, did not mean that she was going to be making a habit of it. Draco said he'd rather sit and keep Granger company._

 _Their homework had all been done and they had begun to talk while sitting on the ground in a far corner. At first, they whispered basic questions they hadn't thought to on their walk to the Shrieking Shack._

 _After asking about favorite colors, books, and animals, Hermione asked one that she thought would be the easiest to answer._

 _"What's your favorite holiday?" Hermione asked with a curious gaze._

 _Draco bit his lower lip for a second and shrugged. "Well, I don't actually have one. They all..." He faltered for a moment then cleared his throat. "Everyone has a favorite simply because of the joy and fun they bring. All the holidays I've experienced were always cold and quiet."_

 _His words and the emptiness that echoed in his voice had hit her like a stab to the heart. She couldn't help but frown. He caught it and shook his head, "Don't feel bad for me. It's normal...at least it's normal in the Malfoy family."_

 _"I just find it sad that you don't know." Her voice sounded so sad and it made him pause._

 _He cocked an eyebrow and watched her fiddle her fingers. "That I don't know what?"_

 _Hermione gave him a small smile and her eyes became distant. "That moment on Christmas morning when you get so excited you just jump out of bed like a four-year-old. Or when it's Halloween and your mum has been so busy making your costume perfect and you feel perfect in it and your dad takes your hand and walks you around to get candy that you'll never finish. Or when you're counting down the seconds until the clock strikes midnight the night before your birthday and your parents celebrate like you've just cured every disease known to man." He watched her eyes grow watery and he noted that her lower lip quivered slightly when she mentioned her parents. He planned to figure out why, but for now her words had entranced him and he held on to every word._

 _"Or when it's New Year's Eve and everyone is counting down to the New Year and you feel that happiness spread through you because it's another new year and a new chance to start fresh. Then midnight strikes and you watch the fireworks erupt everywhere around you and for that split second, it's like the whole world is at peace. It makes you want to cry because it's so beautiful." She stopped suddenly when his fingers reached out and wiped away the tear that had been traveling down her cheek . As she froze, so did the hand that lingered on her face._

 _They locked eyes and the shock they felt was mirrored back to the other. Draco hadn't meant to wipe away the tear and Hermione hadn't meant to cry._

 _They stared at each other for several seconds._

 _Hermione was vaguely reminded of those Muggle films where the music went soft and the main characters kissed. The thought - mixed with her memory of his comment that day in Honeydukes - excited her yet made her nervous as all hell. She broke the metaphorical spell before either of them could lean in and cross that line that had been drawn for years._

 _With a nervous chuckle, she crossed her arms and looked over to him. "Sorry. That was a bit too much, yeah?"_

 _He was also reminded of those romantic moments from the books Pansy gushed about and had felt nerves swarm his stomach until she spoke. He both watched and felt the blush rise in her cheeks and lowered his hand back to his lap. "Not at all. You made me reminiscent for something I've never had." He murmured._

 _"I didn't mean to cry, I'm sorry." She sniffled and squeezed her eyes shut to hide her embarrassment. "I just get like that when I talk about..." She was about to say 'her parents' but bit her tongue before she said too much._

 _Draco pretended not to notice her hesitance and shook his head. "Don't apologize. It's not like I've never seen you cry." He felt something flutter in his torso when she grinned slightly and then sighed. "It's my turn now." He hoped that a quick subject change would lift her spirits a bit. But, what to ask?_

 _He bit his lip for a split second and then grinned. Perhaps the curiousity that had been growing for years could finally be sated. "How did you figure out that it was a Basilisk in Second Year?"_

 _She watched his excited smile and was silently amazed at how easily that oddly intimate moment passed. Her embarrassment from crying was quickly forgotten as she laughed incredulously. "I was petrified when that happened, if you recall. I had absolutely nothing to do with it."_

 _"Bullshit." He chuckled. "You can't expect me or anyone in this school to believe that the Boy Wonder and his Weasel sorted it out on their own."_

 _Hermione chose not to reprimand him for the name-calling and laughed instead. "For all you know, they very well could have figured it out on their own while I was in a frozen coma."_

 _He pursed his lips and stretched out so he was lying on his back beside her. "I suppose they could have." He watched her brow arch when she thought that he was conceding._

 _She opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to the punch._

 _"But did they?" He asked with a smug smirk as he rested his hands behind his head. She rolled her eyes and he knew the answer._

 _There was a part of her that wanted to lie and defend her friends - though their betrayal was like a slice to her heart - and having someone so sure they couldn't be brilliant without her should have miffed her. But he was right. She had left them clues._

 _"No. I helped them." She mumbled and cast a Muffliato around them just as he released a boisterous laugh. "You're going to get us kicked out of here."_

 _He continued to laugh and accidentally knocked over a stack of books while he rolled to the side to hug his stomach._

 _"It's not that funny." She tried hard to sound stern but his laughs only made her smile._

 _He quieted down after that and returned to rest on his back, his breath coming in exasperated gasps with residual chuckles. "It really is from my point of view. Everyone was so sure that those two used their heads but I just knew that you had something to do with it. I told anyone that would listen."_

 _"I'm sure Blaise and Pansy hated you for it."_

 _Draco placed his hands back behind his head and made a face. "More like Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle. I didn't talk much to Blaise back then. Not even Theo."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Well, I didn't talk to them about_ you _back then. They would tell me to shut the fuck up and go to bed." He shrugged. "They didn't like to hear me bitch about you and how slighted I felt when you did better than me. I was quite annoying back then."_

 _She frowned and realized that he was remembering a time when he had openly hated her. "Oh."_

 _Draco heard her dejected tone and suddenly recalled a moment when he had ranted to Crabbe and Goyle about hoping the girl sitting beside him would be killed by the Basilisk. The memory made his stomach spasm with something akin to guilt._

 _She had no idea that he had thought something so outrageous when they were just children and that made it even worse. He felt the sudden urge to apologize to her and grit his teeth as he struggled to find the right words._

 _He parted his lips to speak when she asked, "Draco, may I ask you something?"_

 _"You've been doing so all night."_

 _She fought the urge to roll her eyes and sighed. "It's something...a bit personal."_

 _A nervousness settled into his chest but he nodded and turned his head to look at her._

 _Hermione was anxiously tugging at a necklace and biting her inner cheek. "You can choose to just get up and walk out of here if this is too much, okay? I'm not forcing an answer."_

 _Again, Draco nodded. He couldn't trust his voice to shield his nerves._

 _"When...Or...Why did you change? The Draco Malfoy I thought I knew would never sit here and laugh with me." She spoke in a rush and felt slight tremors in her fingertips._

 _Draco suspected she'd ask something like this and tried to ignore the shaking in his own bones and looked up to the high stone ceiling._

 _Why did he change? How could he explain?_

 _Astoria was a fairly good explanation. But such a long and somewhat painful explanation. And he wasn't even sure he could tell her the whole story._

 _How could he say that his friend he had been betrothed to had been the most enlightened person he'd ever met? How could he even begin to explain that she had lectured him in the Slytherin Common Room their first night in school when he had ranted about the pretty girl he met who just so happened to be a Mudblood?_

 _How could he explain that he always felt like he was reciting lines just to please his father whenever he bullied her? And Astoria was so intuitive that she saw right through him and planted so many seeds of doubt that she was one of the reasons he was sitting here now._

 _He was such a sheep that he mimicked everything Lucius said and did. And when he had been ordered to kill...Taking a life was the one thing he couldn't mimic._

 _Being ordered to kill mixed with Astoria's heated rants about the ridiculousness of blood purity had changed him._

 _But he couldn't tell Granger that. She wasn't supposed to know that he was being groomed to be a murderer. No one was supposed to know._

 _And he couldn't confirm the rumors Daphne had started when she screamed that Astoria had been killed because of him and his failure._

 _So he sighed and gave a small shrug. "A friend of mine...She...She has been a great influence. Always lecturing about how we were all equal and blood didn't matter. She always told us that we were being ignorant fools for following our parents' beliefs. When we were younger, I'd always ignore her because it scared me." He bit his lip for a split second and shut his eyes. "It scared me to think that my father was wrong and she was right. It was easier to pretend that I had no doubts and just continue hating Creevey, Fletchley..." He opened his eyes and looked at her._

 _Hermione's eyes watered and she sighed as he continued. "You especially. It was easier to just hate you. Only recently...before I came back to school this year...did I really allow myself to embrace those doubts and think for myself. For so long I had thought chances were slim that she was right. And now I know she was. Spending time with you helped me realize that she was right. It really doesn't matter. Your blood doesn't matter. And it's far easier to be your...to be your friend than to hate you. And I'm so sorry it took me so long to realize it. I'm so sorry I was so cruel to you."_

 _His apology hung in the air as he watched her cover her mouth and shut her eyes to stop herself from crying. He fully expected her to never forgive him for what he'd done and said in the past. He watched her regain her composure and waited for her to get up and leave._

 _But she shocked him by dropping her hand and smiling at him."I always knew you weren't truly...evil."_

 _"You said I was - back in third year." He whispered to her and the hint of sorrow in his voice told her that he had believed her then._

 _A gnawing guilt rose in her gut and she sighed, opening her eyes to see him staring at her with glassy grey eyes. "I was evidently wrong about you. I'm sorry."_

 _"Obviously so was I about you. And you shouldn't apologize." He shook his head then turned to meet her gaze. "I don't expect you to forgive me."_

 _She smiled again and looked down at her hands nervously. "I think I forgave you that day in Hogsmeade."_

 _The grin he gave her in return gave her butterflies before they started to talk about other things in their lives._

Hermione smiled when she felt Draco's hand caress the small of her back for a few seconds. The small gesture pulled her out of her trance and had once again made her completely forget the glares and whispers coming from the other Slytherins seated at the table. The gesture made her feel welcome and wanted.

Theo blinked a couple times then his trademark smirk was in place, "Yes, nice indeed! Every morning we are all so thrilled to see our visitor hasn't abandoned us yet."

"You say this every day. Every breakfast, every lunch, and every dinner. For six months." Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled a piece of toast onto her plate. "Will you ever grow tired of saying it?"

Pansy smiled and shrugged, resting her head on Blaise's shoulder. "Well it's not like we are used to Gryffindor's Lionness hanging around us - unless it's because Snape partnered us in Potions."

"Yeah, we all have bets on when you're going to let your little wounded puppy back in from the doghouse." Blaise smirked and winked at Draco. "Don't we, Draco?"

Draco glowered at him and grumbled, "Shut up."

Hermione barked a laugh. "Give all your galleons to whoever is betting never - because that's when I'll talk to Ron again. After all this time, I'd thought that was obvious."

Draco grinned and took a sip of his juice. Then he cleared his throat, "Well, I suppose I've just come into some money."

The words made Hermione smile but roll her eyes just the same.

As Pansy and Blaise groaned in defeat at once again losing money to him, Theo's eyes widened and he gestured to Hermione and Draco to look at something behind them.

When the pair turned around, Hermione stifled a gasp as she registered who was walking up to her with eyes blazing. Suddenly, she regretted sitting at the corner of the table; it was far too easy for others to confront you.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Lavender hissed the moment she was close enough to grab the edge of the table. She had gotten so close to Hermione's face that the curly haired witch leaned back and was pressed against Draco's shoulder.

Hermione cleared her throat and nodded. Regaining her composure, she raised her chin defiantly and smirked. "I do, actually. Why do you ask?"

If Lavender didn't know any better, she'd think that Hermione actually was a Slytherin.

Hermione's bold words caused the small band of Slytherins - Draco especially - to laugh quietly, which seemed to fuel Lavender's anger.

"You think because you're acting like a whore with him -" She turned her rage filled eyes to Draco for a quick second. "- that he'll leave me and run back to you? You're wrong." Lavender practically spit in her face. "Ron loves _me_. Not you."

Hermione bit her lip to try and contain her laughter. "Good for you, then." Her words dripped with sarcasm as she shook her head slowly. "You're _so_ lucky that he loves you. I suppose I'll just have to stay here being a whore."

Those words made Pansy laugh into Blaise's shoulder and Theo chuckle quietly.

Lavender was obviously miffed that the clever witch wasn't taking the bait and seemed to be making fun of her. She was about to open her mouth and say something else when Draco intervened.

"I think it's time you move along now. We wouldn't want to see our Hermione here send you into another table, now would we?" His deep voice sounded threatening and aristocratic which made Lavender unconsciously flinch.

Hermione had half a mind to slap his arm but couldn't deny that what he said was funny.

Pansy mumbled that she certainly wouldn't mind but it was otherwise silent. Lavender looked like a fish out of water as her mouth opened and closed. She was at a loss for words and the smug smirk Hermione was giving made her blood boil.

 _She would get her revenge soon,_ Lavender thought to herself before she glared a final time and left the Great Hall.

There was a beat of silence before Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders and smirked. "Now, that was just offensive. If either of us is a whore, it'd obviously be _me_. All the rumors say so!" He joked and felt a weird rush of _something_ when he heard Hermione laugh.

Hermione leaned into his side and felt a similar rush of _something_ when his arm squeezed around her. "A whorish vampire." She giggled.

"Who the fuck says vampire? I know I made up the werewolf one...But that's just perfect. Makes much more sense! The pale skin and squinty eyes!" Blaise questioned and furrowed his brow. "Who outdid my Malfoy rumor?"

Theo smirked and hid it by looking down at his plate. "Only you would think werewolf was plausible."

"I don't have squinty eyes." Draco barked defensively. "And screw you for starting that in the first place."

Pansy laughed, "I'm the one who started the whore rumors." She winked at Hermione then raised her hands in a dramatic fashion. "So many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs traipsing through our common room! All the former virgins praising his adept skills."

"You little liar!" Draco gasped dramatically then chuckled. "Like I didn't know it was you starting that asinine shit."

Hermione's continued giggles halted as she heaved a dramatic sigh, "Thank Merlin! Now I don't have to worry about diseases they could've brought!"

"You never know. Draco could have diseases of his own creation without the help from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls." Blaise jested. "Who knows what germs could be festering on his right hand."

Draco immediately tossed up his middle finger while Hermione and Pansy laughed loud enough to draw attention from the few people left at the tables surrounding them.

Blaise smirked triumphantly at Draco as the girls' laughter slowly died down. "What's the matter, Draco? You don't like being the butt of people's jokes?"

"I'll get you back in time, Zabini, mark my words." Draco growled - the slight blush coloring his cheeks only made the threat that much funnier.

"But did anyone here start the vampire rumor?" Hermione asked after catching her breath, having noticed Theo's gesture.

Draco looked at his three best friends and watched Theo not-so-subtly look at his fingernails, feigning innocence. "Theo, I'm shocked. You're the most innocent of us all. Including Granger here."

"I resent that. I am plenty innocent." Hermione remarked with furrowed brows.

Pansy smirked and crossed her arms. "I'm sure Draco can confirm that you're not."

"Yes, I can." Draco grinned and kissed Hermione's temple as she scoffed.

Blaise and Pansy laughed while Hermione insisted that snogging still made her far more innocent than the Slytherins around her.

"She's got a point. Daphne and I have been caught snogging with my hand up her skirt several times. You two have just been caught snogging outside the Slytherin common room. There wasn't even any wandering hands." Theo grinned at the pair.

Draco rolled his eyes, "If you nosy gits hadn't interrupted us, I'm sure my hands would've been wandering just fine."

Hermione smirked, "Who said it'd be your hands?"

Before anyone could say anything in response, a throat cleared behind them and they all looked up to see McGonagall giving them a disapproving glare.

An uncharacteristic blush colored Draco's cheeks while Hermione looked positively mortified that her favorite professor had overheard them. "P-Professor...Good morning."

"I think it would be best that you five gather your things and go to class." McGonagall spoke in her familiar stern tone and turned away. She took three steps before glancing behind her. "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, I'd like to speak to you in my office before dinner tonight."

Hermione visibly paled and Draco nodded his head before they watched the elder woman walk away.

Their friends all made jokes about them getting in trouble as they all grabbed their bags and made their way to their first class. None of them noticed the trio of people watching them in disgust.

* * *

Harry Potter was sitting in the back of charms class, observing his old friend and his blond adversary. He had an inkling that they were now more than friends but he couldn't prove it.

Even if he did, he didn't know what he was going to do with the information. He couldn't exactly go up to her and tell her she was making a big mistake, he'd already tried that and it blew up in his face. And he sure as hell couldn't tell Ron as it was no secret that his best friend still loved Hermione deeply. As aggravating as it was, the situation the trio were in made Ron even more in denial about his feelings for her than he already was.

He tried to hide it and pretend that he hated her, but Harry could recognize the pain and jealousy clouding his friend's eyes because until very recently, Harry felt the exact same way. Though he never could've said half the vile things Ron said.

Ron was seated beside him and scoffed in disgust when the pair watched Draco reach over and move a curl out of Hermione's eyes as she was concentrating on morphing a Daily Prophet into a sizable book.

"Can you believe him? Putting on the soft caring act? And she just smiles and goes along with it." Ron spat in a whisper. "She's a disgraceful bitch if I ever saw one."

Professor Flitwick, who had been wandering around the room to make sure every student was doing well, gasped at what he had just heard and cleared his throat. "50 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley, for your foul language."

As Ron began to grumble to himself about the traitorous witch getting him into trouble, Harry rolled his eyes and thought back to six months ago when Ron had first started ranting about Hermione.

 _"What did she say exactly?" Ginny asked when Harry told her that Ron had screwed up their talk with Hermione._

 _Ron hadn't noticed that his best friend and sister seemed to be a little too comfortable as they sat too close on the small couch - he was too busy fuming._

 _Ron rolled his eyes and shrugged. "She was defending the Slytherins. She was being an outright bitch, if you ask me!" He knew he was being unfairly harsh, but his anger had been coming in buckets. Hermione wasn't his girlfriend - barely even a friend, now - but to see her fondling Harry then running off with Malfoy of all people was absolutely maddening._

 _"Well good thing no one did ask you." Harry snapped and crossed his arms. "I don't know why she would, but she defended them the moment Ron called them pompous and racist. And said they hadn't called her the M word all day...Then she said to ask Tonks, because she was there."_

 _Ginny stood and debated on going up to Hermione's room. "That explains why Tonks is walking around here...I wonder why Hermione would suddenly be on their side and defend them. We all know how shitty they are."_

 _"I don't know what's going on with her anymore. Not after today." Ron muttered and felt the bitterness rising in him again. Before he could face exactly why he was feeling what he was, he stood and paced to the swinging portrait. "I'm going to see Lavender."_

 _Without waiting for a reply, he stepped out of the room and left the couple alone. Everyone was still out roaming the ground and the young couple wanted to take advantage of their isolation but the thought of Ginny's other companion halted any romantic sparks._

 _"How's Dean doing?" Harry couldn't help but ask as his stomach clenched with a jealousy that wasn't quite as intense and outrageous as Ron's. Ginny did not miss the tone in his voice and frowned._

 _With a small shrug that she hoped told him that she didn't care about Dean the way she cared about him, she whispered. "He's alright..."_

 _Not wanting to think of the guy that he couldn't stand, Harry slowly reached over and grasped her hand. "So...Do you think he will ever admit that he loves Hermione?"_

 _"Ron?" She asked and watched him nod. She squeezed his hand back and shook her head. "I don't think he's even admitted it to himself. And I honestly doubt she'd want to hear it now."_

It was obvious by the way Ron acted that Ginny was right and he still hadn't admitted to himself that he loved her.

Harry groaned to himself the rest of the lesson as Ron continued to mutter about how unfairly he was being treated. He missed the way things used to be between his friends, before all this misunderstanding and Slytherin mess started. Back when Lavender wasn't even an issue.

 _The day after that particular fight, Harry had tried going to Hermione and apologizing for Ron, but the witch would have none of it. She distinctly told him that if Ron was sorry, he'd tell her to her face. They both knew that Ron was far too stubborn to do that so Harry settled for trying to get her to stop being mad at him instead of Ron._

 _She had forgiven him for his reaction to her accidentally hurling Lavender and Ron, and the pair began to sit together in the common room and study together. It lasted for two weeks._

 _They talked as normal and went to class together as normal, though Harry saw her wave to Pansy or Draco or speak to them before class began, and he had genuinely thought the fighting was behind them. She would sometimes go off to the library or the Black Lake, but he assumed she went off to read alone._

 _He'd been wrong. When he went to go check on her at the lake, he found her lying on the grass beside Draco as he read passages from a book out loud. Not too far from them was Pansy and Blaise having a snogfest._

 _Hermione had seen him and told him to come and join them and he had left without saying a word._

 _After an hour or so, Hermione returned to the crowded Gryffindor common room and asked him why he had been so rude. He simply told her that he didn't want to hang out at the time, not wanting to fight again._

 _That plan went out the window as she sat beside him and suggested he come study with her and the Slytherin group in the library. She said that she and Draco had found a nice corner where Madam Pince never bothered them and he would enjoy it._

 _The thought that she and Malfoy were chummy enough to find quiet corners hidden away in the library made Harry speak without thinking and he told her that he'd rather face off Voldemort without his wand than hang out with a bunch of Death Eaters._

 _Hermione had been less than pleased and yelled at him for being so judgemental and hateful when Draco and his friends weren't even doing anything wrong. Of course, Harry screamed at her that she was being brainwashed or something, which drew the attention of everyone in the room. He then told her that whatever was going on with Malfoy and his cronies was disgusting and obviously a setup by Voldemort to either turn her to the Dark or just kill her._

 _She had called him an asshole and then stormed out of the room, and that was the last friendly conversation they'd had. For the last six months, they only exchanged icy glares and clipped greetings._

Harry was brought out of his thoughts as the class was dismissed and everyone prepared to drop off their bags to head to dinner. Ron was still complaining as he watched Draco pick up Hermione's bag and the pair walked out ahead of them. Harry couldn't help but notice that Draco's pale hand was against Hermione's back as he gently guided her down the halls and out of sight. Ron either pretended not to notice or just didn't.

"I can't believe I lost points for telling it like it is." Ron's voice dropped to a loud whisper, "Flitwick is a part of the Order, too! He should be just as angry as me watching Hermione be chummy with those Slytherins! Especially Malfoy!"

"Okay, Ron, I fucking get it!" Harry snapped in annoyance. "Just shut up about it already. She's never going to talk to us again if you carry on."

Ron stared at his best friend in shock for a bit and asked, "You want her to talk to us again? I thought she made it clear that she wanted nothing more to do with us."

Harry rolled his eyes, "She hasn't spoken to me in months, but I know if you would just cool down and shut up, she would forgive us both for all the shit going on. You aren't helping matters by talking about her any chance you get like she can't hear you. You're just pushing her into Malfoy's clutches."

At that, Ron turned bright red and stalked away from him. Harry didn't have the energy to feel sorry for snapping at him as Ginny snuck away from Dean and made her way to him.

* * *

"I'm nervous!" Hermione groaned as she and Draco made their way to Gryffindor Tower to drop off her bookbag. Draco had already already given his bookbag to Blaise to take down to his dorms so they could immediately go to McGonagall before heading to dinner.

Draco grinned and shook his head, "There's nothing to be nervous about. It's just McGonagall."

"So, if it were Snape that had summoned us, you'd be nervous?" Hermione asked, wondering if he wasn't nervous because she wasn't his head of house.

At that, Draco laughed and shrugged while the pair walked up the stairs leading to Gryffindor tower. "He is my godfather, though, so I think I would be."

Hermione gaped at him, "Snape is your godfather?"

He nodded once. "Yes. He and my father are practically best friends. They're a few years apart, but they were close in school and Severus was the only one around that was mature enough to take the role of godfather seriously when I was born. And he does take it very seriously. It can be annoying sometimes."

"I had no idea you two were so close. I should've, I mean, he does look out for you a lot. In class, I notice that he checks on you and praises you far more than anyone else." She waved slightly at a passing fifth year as they made their way down the hall. "I always thought it was just a Slytherin thing. That you were his favorite Slytherin or the best out of the bunch."

"I am the best." Draco replied with a cocky grin. Hermione promptly slapped him playfully on his shoulder, making him chuckle. "In all honesty, Severus has been a better father figure than my father could even dream of being. Father can be quite cruel and cold towards me, whereas Severus always checks in, looks out for me, gives me advice when I ask for it. Especially lately, with everything that's been happening with... _him_. Well, you know all about that." Hermione visibly flinched at the subtle mention of the Dark Lord but nodded along. "He's been there for me when my father isn't, which is quite often."

She could hear the admiration in his voice and was about to say that she was glad he had someone to look up to when she heard angered voices. She turned and looked behind her to see Ron approaching and groaned.

Draco turned to see what had caught her attention and rolled his eyes at the red faced Weasel. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Weasley."

Ron advanced fast and in no time, he was standing in front of the pair. "What the hell are you doing up here? This hallway leads to the _Gryffindor_ common room. No snakes allowed." He hissed and glared at them both.

"I'm not a Slytherin, you asshole. And it's none of your business why he's up here." Hermione growled back, not caring that Ron looked momentarily stunned by her language. "Leave us alone and go do whatever it was you were doing."

"Don't boss me around! You're not my bloody girlfriend!" Ron shouted at her. "You're nothing to me!"

Draco was about to say something when Hermione grabbed him by the arm. "And thank Merlin for that! I'd rather die than be your girlfriend! I'm damn lucky I mean nothing to you." She spat at Ron before pulling Draco down the remainder of the hallway to the common room.

Hermione didn't let go of Draco's arm until they were outside the common room as to avoid anymore trouble. She knew that her words more than likely made Ron angrier than he already was and a full scale fight would commence soon enough. She didn't fancy hearing his cruel words and didn't have the self control to hold back hexes; and she just knew that Draco would love to throw a punch as he was still upset that he hadn't punched him six months ago.

She hurriedly gave the password and took her bag from Draco before running into the common room and spotting Neville. She quickly asked him to watch her bag until she got back and ran back out in the hopes that a fight wouldn't break out between Draco and Ron.

When she stepped out into the hall, Ron was still standing in the spot she'd last seen him and Draco was watching him with a vicious glare. The redhead looked to be in pain and Hermione wondered briefly if she had actually hurt his feelings.

As Ron saw her staring at him, he quickly walked towards them. Both Hermione and Draco prepared for another screaming match when Ron brushed against Hermione and gave the portrait the password. Hermione could hear his voice quiver as he spoke and felt a mixture of shock and guilt. She watched as the painting swung open and Ron dashed inside without looking back.

"Huh. It looks like you _do_ mean something to him, after all. Or was I imagining the broken heart you just gave him?" Draco asked genuinely curious.

Hermione stared at the painting for a moment longer before turning back around and walking back down the hallway. This whole time she had thought that Ron had genuinely hated her and now seeing that her own cruel words had affected him made her feel absolutely troubled. "I think he still cares for me. Though, why he treats me so horribly, I don't know."

* * *

The pair were silent as they made their way to McGonagall's office.

Draco was rather worried that Hermione was hurt by Ron's words. Even though she had assured him that she had no more feelings for the redhead, he couldn't help but feel some doubt. Only six months ago, she had been crying over him and telling him that he had broken her heart by being with Lavender.

He watched her as they stopped in front of McGonagall's office door and was about to ask her if she still loved the redhead when the door swung open.

"It's about time you got here." McGonagall tutted. "Come in and sit."

The pair obeyed and Draco was shocked to see his godfather standing behind the desk as McGonagall sat in her chair.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked what he was about to.

Snape cleared his throat and, after receiving a nod from the deputy head, he began to explain. "Professor McGonagall and I have noticed that you two have become quite close these last few months. And after what she heard today...we decided that it would be best to talk to you about how that could prove to be problematic for you both."

Draco immediately scoffed while Hermione spoke through gritted teeth. "Not you too, Professors! We aren't babies, we can bury the bloody hatchet and move on. Draco and I are quite capable of being...friends. We don't care about the house rivalry or blood status mess. It's our business if we want to talk or be friends or even more, as you overheard, but it's no one else's. Just ours."

McGonagall offered them a small smile before speaking softly. "Don't think that we want to break you two apart. We both are quite proud that you've overcome your differences, especially your prejudices, Mr. Malfoy. I'm quite pleased that the two of you have become friends...and maybe more."

"Then what's the problem?" Draco asked in confusion before she could continue. "If you don't want to break us apart, as you say, why bring us in here to tell us that the pair of us being friends causes problems?"

Again, the older witch spoke softly and clasped her hands atop her desk. "Your father."

"What about him? He's in Azkaban."

Hermione watched as the professors shared a glance and felt her nervousness from before come back full force. "What aren't you telling us?"

"He's no longer in Azkaban. He was broken out last night and we both fear that someone may tell him about your involvement with Miss Granger. Now that he's loose and more than likely with the Dark Lord, it could put you both in a very dangerous situation. Have you thought of that?" Snape's attention was solely on his godson who turned impossibly paler.

Hermione and Draco both felt sick to their stomachs as they realized just what could happen by becoming close in the last six months.

* * *

 **Major time jump here guys! Sorry if it's not what you wanted, but in order to progress the story, we need to jump a bit. As it is, this is going to be a long story and I don't want anyone getting bored so I'm getting to the angsty parts. But don't worry! Flashbacks of how Draco and Hermione got to this point will definitely be featured!**

 **Any and all reviews are appreciated! I know I've been horrible at updating and I apologize for that. I hope that this chapter and getting to the parts I'm most excited for will help me keep writing. (honestly, I think I was becoming a bit bored with it so now I'm kicking it up a notch lol)**

 **Much love! - klutzy**


	9. Chapter 8

Draco desperately wanted to tell his godfather everything that was running through his mind at the moment, but the older witch sitting across from him stopped him in his tracks. He couldn't reveal anything to her just yet, so all Draco could do was sit there and listen as Hermione asked questions and the professors provided answers while plans were forming in his head.

He knew he was going to fail his task. Time was nearly up and he was nowhere near close to ready. He never would be ready for what Voldemort wanted him to do. Even if his godfather promised to do what he, himself, couldn't, he knew that he would be seen as a failure in Voldemort's eyes. Once the deadline was passed, he knew the Dark Lord would punish him. He just hoped and prayed that having his father home now would protect his mother.

But his mother wasn't the person he loved the most anymore.

Slowly, he turned his head to watch Hermione. He knew that he had to protect the witch he had grown to love. He knew that this is what would push him to tell the Order everything he knew so he could get rid of Voldemort and protect her. He just hoped that she wouldn't hate him for what he still had to reveal to her.

Draco knew that if his father were to find out that he not only became friends with Hermione, but was in a committed relationship with her, he would throw a fit and demand that Voldemort use her. Chills ran through his body as he thought of all the possible scenarios his father would no doubt create. His reoccurring nightmare would surely become reality. He had to stop them all from happening.

"What could he do? If he's escaped Azkaban only last night, he's a bloody fugitive. The Ministry isn't corrupt enough yet, it's not like he can come in here and curse me for being with Draco." Hermione spoke and fought the nausea that her anxiety caused. "And how could he even find out about us? There's no sleazy journalists who'd spy on us and report it. It's not like we're out in public. We're only in school."

"Hogsmeade." Draco muttered under his breath so only Hermione could hear and she froze.

She squeezed her eyes shut and released a broken sigh as she realized that they _had_ gone out in public together several times in the last six months. They definitely let themselves slip up and would snog or grope each other out in alleyways. Anyone could have seen them and could be planning to report it to Lucius as soon as they saw him.

Professor McGonagall could sense the distress her young students were feeling and frowned deeply. "I can assure you that Lucius can't come into the school, don't worry about that."

Those words made Draco's stomach spasm painfully and he fought hard to keep his breathing under control. She was wrong. She had no idea how wrong she was. He knew in his gut that Lucius would get into the school with the others.

Having not heard Draco's reminder to Hermione, Snape addressed Hermione's second question. "He could very easily find out about the friendship you two have developed. It's no secret in school, children talk, we have no idea who could be listening." Snape spoke with a frown of his own as he watched Draco suffer in silence. "Your friends, Draco, can easily be angry and go tell the truth. Or even your friends, Miss Granger.""

"Pansy, Blaise, and Theo would never." Draco shook his head. "They truly love Hermione and would never betray either of us that way."

Hermione nodded in agreement, "I trust Draco's friends - my friends - completely. And Harry and Ron may hate me but they would never do that to me."

McGonagall pursed her lips and was about to say the other Slytherins and Gryffindors could very well reveal their friendship when someone knocked on her door.

She called for the person to come in and it was a first year informing the Deputy Headmistress that Dumbledore needed her assistance in the Great Hall.

"Excuse me, I'll be back shortly." McGonagall sighed and pocketed her wand that was resting on her desk. As she stood to walk out of the room, Draco was grateful that he'd be left alone with his godfather and girlfriend.

They all waited until the door clicked shut behind them before they all moved. Snape let himself slouch and lean against the wall behind him, Hermione reached over to grasp Draco's hand, and Draco began speaking.

"Protect her. Help me protect Hermione, Severus, please. You know he'll get in. He will. And you know once he knows, he'll use her." Draco squeezed Hermione's hand back and fought the fear that was seizing his heart. "Take her, hide her, do whatever you need to do. Go get her parents, too. Hide them all. Please. I need her to be safe."

Hermione looked over at him in shock, "What? Hide me? Draco, that's ludicrous. I'm not hiding away!"

Snape crossed his arms and stared at the young couple, feeling a strong sense of deja vu. He and Lily could've so easily been like them, if he didn't go and screw it all up when they were just beginning. "Draco...Hiding her won't be an easy task."

"But it can be done." Draco nodded. "Please, help me protect her."

Hermione shook her head, "I appreciate the effort, Professor, but no. I won't be stowed away because of your father, Draco. Whatever we face, we face together."

"You don't understand what's coming. This isn't Weasley scoffing at us or Brown calling you a whore. This is my father!" Draco spoke heatedly. "He would tell Voldemort! He would order someone to torture you! Hell, he would tell my father to skin you alive and force me to watch if he knew!"

"Stop trying to scare me! I know what your father and his Lord is capable of! In case you forgot, I dueled your father, however briefly! And his friend Dolohov nearly killed me last year!" Hermione snapped back.

Draco scoffed and snatched his hand away to stand and pace, "Who do you think taught Dolohov those tricks?! My father!"

"I've dealt with plenty of Death Eaters befo-" Hermione was suddenly shouting.

Snape pursed his lips and tuned out the young couple's quarrel while thinking of ways to fix the mess in front of them.

He could easily hide Hermione away, but even he knew the young witch wouldn't allow that. To be hidden away while everyone else did the fighting was something Hermione Granger would despise. She was the type to be in the front, to do battle alongside her friends.

And Draco. As he watched the young couple, he could see that his godson truly loved the muggleborn witch. He was in a panic at the thought of Lucius being anywhere near her. He wanted to protect her, and Snape understood that perfectly. From experience, Snape knew how hard it was to love a muggleborn witch, and it was especially harder to cope with losing them.

Hermione and Lily were so similar, he noted.

Not only were they muggleborns, Gryffindor muggleborns. They were both equally gifted with their magic and incredibly brave when battling Death Eaters. And the one thing that was most disconcerting was their incredible stubbornness when it came to their safety. He recalled being in Order meetings for the first time and overhearing Remus Lupin complain to Alice Longbottom that Lily wanted to come out of hiding, that she hated being left out.

Hermione sounded so similar just now as she told Draco she wouldn't hide away.

Snape would rather die himself than allow his godson to feel the familiar pain he dealt with every day.

He let himself tune back into the fight in front of him as a solid plan was forming in his head.

"I'm not hiding away!" Hermione screamed. "I'm not going to let you bloody hide me away! That's not who I am! And if you think that, then you don't know me very well, Draco!"

Draco dragged his hands through his blond hair in agitation and shook his head. "I know you're not that type of person! I'm asking you to be! He will _kill_ you, Hermione! If he fucking finds out that we are together, he won't hesitate to kill you! _Voldemort_ will kill you if he doesn't! Do you not understand that?!"

"Then let him at me, I can fire off a killing curse much faster than that old bastard! I won't fucking hesitate to get rid of him for the both of us!"

Yes, just like Lily.

Before Draco could respond, Snape raised his hand and cast a wandless silencing charm. "I have a plan. I'm going to need you both to be silent and let me explain. Do you understand?"

Both teenagers nodded. Hermione crossed her arms and buried herself further into the chair she was still sitting in while Draco paced back to his own seat.

"Draco, I think it would be best if...I don't hide her away." He watched as outrage filled Draco's entire being while Hermione smirked in triumph. "But, I do think you should go to the Order. We can tell them everything."

Hermione suddenly looked intrigued and turned to her boyfriend with questioning eyes. Draco immediately nodded, he had wanted to go to the Order anyway.

"Okay." Snape nodded. "We go to the Order. You'll be on our side, you realize?" He waited for his godson to nod before continuing. "After that, we'll come up with a solid plan. We don't have much time, though. Once McGonagall gets back, I'll tell her to ask for the Order members that are in the school now. That gives you enough time to explain everything to the ever curious witch at your side."

With another wave of his hand, the silencing charm lifted and Hermione immediately stood up.

Draco looked nervous as he stood and reached for Hermione's hand. "I'm allowed to tell her everything?"

"Everything. You'll be telling the Order as well."

Draco nodded slowly and looked at Hermione, "Please don't hate me."

Snape looked away to allow them a bit of privacy while Hermione's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "I could never hate you..."

Before anymore could be said, McGonagall walked back in and noted the change in the atmosphere. "What have I missed?"

"How soon can you gather the Order members that are in the castle?" Snape asked while Hermione rubbed her fingers against the back of Draco's hand.

McGonagall paled due to all the possibilities running through her head. "Some are busy doing detentions, at least an hour. Why? What's happened?"

"We have a new recruit who would like to speak to all of us."

Hermione couldn't help but feel some pride at the thought that Draco was officially changing sides, though she knew he wasn't truly bad for months now. Giving him a small smile, she walked backwards towards the door with him in tow. "We'll see you in an hour, Professors."

Draco was far too nervous to speak, but he did meet the elder witch's eyes and offered a weak grin before following his witch out the door.

"He realizes his family will be aware of his change in allegiance doesn't he? The fights it will cause. The horrible turmoil it will put him through." McGonagall waited to ask until her office door was closed once more. "Why would he change sides now?"

"Why did I?" Snape sighed as he took a seat."He's in love with a muggleborn."

Pacing in front of the Room of Requirement was the most nerve-wracking moments Draco could recall. This was it. He was finally telling her everything.

And he just knew that she was going to hate him. She was going to look at him with disgust and contempt. He was going to lose her.

As the doors slowly materialized and Hermione reached for them, he wanted to curse his father, he wanted to kill him. This whole mess was his doing. He was finally happy and because of him, he was going to lose it all over again.

"Will you stop worrying? Whatever you're about to tell me, it won't make me hate you. Trust me." Hermione spoke softly as she watched him pull at his sleeves and bite his inner cheek. She hated that he had such little trust in her, but she could understand to an extent.

As it is, she was nervous to tell him what she'd done.

"I do trust you." Draco looked down. "But I know you, you're not the type to...to forgive what I'm about to tell you."

Hermione felt an onslaught of nerves at all her imaginings before she shook her head to rid herself of them. Whatever he was going to confess, there was no way she would hate him for it. He was the first wizard she truly loved - Ron was just an idea, nothing more and certainly nothing less - and there was no way she would be letting him go anytime soon.

"We'll see. Come on." She reached over and pulled him into their room by his elbow. "Now tell me. Then I'll confess something to you, as well."

Raising a brow, Draco frowned. "What would you have to confess?"

"That I'm pregnant with Ron's child." She deadpanned, hoping to lighten the mood. She forced herself to look nervous and watched as his eyes widened in horror. His mouth opened but no noise came out and she laughed. "I'm kidding, Draco! Merlin, what I'm going to confess isn't that bad! Try and laugh!"

Draco deflated with relief and paced to the couch that suddenly materialized in the center of the room. "That wasn't funny."

"It was a little." Hermione grinned and joined him on the couch. "Now, tell me."

He looked over to her and felt like the air was thinning around him. Before he could begin to hyperventilate or chicken out of telling her, he bit his lip and looked down at his feet. "I won't blame you for hating me."

"Draco." She spoke sternly. "I wouldn't hate you. Now tell me!"

"You will. You're bloody close to him. I know you'd hate me if you knew that I had to kill him." He muttered and felt his palms begin to sweat. He had done it now. He told her what he had to do. Now to tell her who his target was.

She was silent as she processed what that meant.

Kill? He had said 'kill'...He had to kill someone.

Somehow, she wasn't too shocked by the act itself. She knew how brutal the dark side was and having a teenager murder someone didn't seem too far fetched. It was the simple fact that she knew he didn't want to do it that upset her so much. Her stomach rolled as she thought that over.

She knew him, she knew that he would never harm anyone in cold blood. Perhaps if he'd been provoked in a fight, then he'd hex back. But he wasn't capable of taking a life. And he was being forced. She felt sorrow for her boyfriend and a strong protective feeling overtook her. She had to help him. She had to save him from this.

But who would be the target? Logically, it had to be someone he could easily get into contact with. Someone that was hard for Voldemort himself to reach, but someone he wanted dead all the same. A horrible thought entered her mind as she thought of the only _him_ that had a target on his back.

"Harry? You have to kill Harry?" Hermione whispered, afraid of the answer. "Is that why you got close to me? To get to Harry?" A part of her immediately felt like a fool. The boys had been right. Had it all been a lie? Did he even care about her? Or did he really fall for her while trying to kill her best friend?

Draco immediately turned to her with panicked eyes. "No! Hermione, no!" She was staring down at her lap and folded hands, fighting tears. "I got close to you out of my own free will. I _wanted_ to get close to you because I liked you. It wasn't because of Voldemort. It wasn't an order." He reached and grasped her hands in between his and leaned forward so she'd meet his eyes. "Please, Darling, believe me. You and I aren't together because of him, but because of us."

She slowly raised her head to meet his gaze and blinked away the tears to clear her blurry vision. "...I believe you." She felt slightly relieved upon seeing the honesty in his eyes. "But it's Harry?"

He chuckled without humor and shook his head. He would've been so lucky. If it were Potter, he would've more than likely had no problem going and dueling Scarhead until he was down and bleeding out to death. If Potter had been his target, in the beginning he would've had it so easy. He would've gotten over the turmoil that taking a life would cause him, if it were Potter. His childhood grudge would've helped him a bit.

But then he would have never connected with Hermione. And that life was one he shuddered to imagine.

"No. It's not Potter."

Hermione frowned and asked with a shaking voice. "Then who?"

"Dumbledore."

* * *

The new Muggle Studies professor was seated at her desk in an unflattering slouch, flicking through a magazine that was charmed to look like a textbook while her last student finished his detention. Her young student was only a second year - he earned his detention by making fun of muggles in class - and he was grumbling to himself as he used a muggle duster to clean the dust from the room.

She felt this punishment fit perfectly for her and her class. She recalled many times her muggleborn father forced her to do her chores the Muggle way, rather than use a bit of underage magic under the radar, and told her to embrace her heritage. It taught her that magic was great but it wasn't everything. She hoped to pass that on to her students.

Just because it was detention, it didn't mean it had to be without a lesson. She hated her old professors when they'd force her to clean under desks or scrub the potion classroom floor, there was never a point to it, they just forced her to do it to be mean and hope it'd make her behave. It never did, it just gave her more ammunition to make their lives hell.

She hoped that Aaron would think twice before saying Muggles were beneath wizards. They were quite capable of amazing things, like wizards were, while also doing things that many wizards were incapable of. Muggles were capable of cleaning and cooking while many wizards would rather hire a House Elf to do for them.

It was the perfect lesson/detention in her eyes.

"Aaron, are you nearly done?" She asked after glancing at her clock and realizing the hour was nearly up.

Her student turned to look at her while still dusting a bookshelf halfheartedly. "Yes, Professor. I only have this shelf left."

She nodded and fought the bristle that always came when she heard her title. She doubted she would ever get used to that. "It's almost time for you to go."

That seemed to perk her young student up as he turned back to his work and dusted vigorously.

Just as the conjured clock began to ring, there was a knock on her door. She called to whoever it was to wait a moment before looking over to her student. "You're free to go, Aaron. Be sure to get here _on time_ tomorrow. You're lucky I'm letting you leave now and not force you to do some overtime."

Aaron quickly paced to her desk and placed the muggle duster down and nodded. "Yes, Professor. I'm sorry, my friends were just hassling me for getting a detention and I had to stick around and tell them to shove it." Immediately, he blushed and looked around the room nervously. "I mean. I-I...Um...We started talking and I uhh...lost track of time?"

She couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. "I understand. Believe it or not, I've been there myself. I don't want to be too strict or mean so I'll let that slide. Just next time, tell them to shove it a bit quicker." She said with a wink of her eye. "Now off you go, have a small game of chess or Exploding Snap before it's time for bed."

Aaron gave her a grateful smile before charging to the door and opening it, he almost smashed into the person pacing on the other side of the door before bolting down the hall.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart, I forgot you had detentions tonight." Remus Lupin said as he walked into the room and closed the door behind himself. "You all done?"

Tonks smiled at the sound of his voice and immediately stood to greet him. "It's alright, but you know out here, you're supposed to call me 'Professor'. I'm free for the rest of the night, what do you want to do?"

"Well, excuse me, Professor." He smirked as he walked over to her. When he was close enough, she reached out to grasp his hands and he stepped up so their bodies were pressed together. As she tiptoed, he leaned down and they shared a tender kiss.

Tonks couldn't stop herself from deepening the kiss and letting his hands go so that she could roam hers across his back and backside, pulling him even closer. She knew it was a tad unprofessional to do this in her classroom, but she never seemed to be able to control herself around him.

It wasn't as if he was innocent either. His hands roamed her sides and back before one hand grasped her hair in a slightly rough grasp - she wasn't complaining at all. She was actually fighting back a moan or two as the hand not tangled in her hair gripped her hip to keep her close so he could grind his own hips against her. She shuddered as she felt him against her through his trousers.

A large part of her was hoping he'd clear off her desk so they could carry this further but instead he pulled away, albeit reluctantly. "As much as I want to take you to my bed and ravish you..." He spoke with subdued lust as he now played with a lock of her hair. "McGonagall asked for us to meet in her classroom in..." He glanced at the conjured clock and grimaced. "Two minutes ago."

The more he spoke, the more pronounced her pout became. "Why not start with that information? You have me all hot and bothered and now I have to sit in with McGonagall? Not fair, Lupin."

Her use of his surname made him laugh, "Well forgive me. I promise to make it up to you later tonight."

"You better." She growled and pulled herself away from him. "Why does she want to see us anyway?"

He reached for her hand and waited for her to finish casting the spells that would seal her room for the night. "She said we have a new and interesting recruit."

"Interesting? I wonder who." She murmured as they stepped out of the room together. "It must be a student, yeah? I don't think the other professors that aren't members would join up."

Remus shrugged as they turned a corner. Before he could speak, he and Tonks watched as Draco and Hermione crept out of the Room of Requirement while grasping each other's hands. The young couple didn't see their elders as they turned the other corner and made their way to McGonagall's classroom.

"I suddenly got an idea of who it is." Remus spoke while Tonks' shock wore off.

Her cousin?

All these months, she'd tried to get her young cousin to talk to her, to open up and explain what she had heard that night. She failed every time. They were growing soft for the other, though. She was genuinely concerned for him now, rather than just Hermione, and he stopped telling her to mind her own business. Instead, he'd tell her not to worry too much, that he had someone helping him.

Maybe this is what he'd meant all along.

She nodded slowly and started walking down the corridor, "Let's go."

The two professors had no idea three of their students also watched the young couple leave their sanctuary and were planning something horrible.

* * *

"Dumbledore?! Why?!" Hermione asked in a panic. "Draco! Please tell me you have a plan!"

Draco sighed and took a deep breath before he began to explain. "Severus is technically a backup plan. He and my mother took a vow, he's supposed to help me. My mother wouldn't allow me to become a murderer."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and rubber her temples, trying to understand and calm down. "Okay, then why say that you have to kill him?"

"Because, Hermione, I do." Draco felt his stomach churn as he carried on, he was terrified that she was about to leave and never speak to him. And he was so ashamed of what he'd yet to do... "Voldemort wants me to kill him. If I fail, if I don't have the stomach to do it, then Severus steps in and finishes my task for me. But it will be at a cost."

"What kind of cost?"

And here comes the hard part. "Voldemort is evil, of course. But he's so cruel, more so than even I imagined. He doesn't kill you if you fail him, he kills the person you love the most. I've seen it happen; to Pansy's parents."

Hermione gasped at the realization. If you looked at her newfound friend, you never would have guessed. "He killed her parents?"

"Her mother. All because her father hesitated in killing children and people too senile to know what year it was. Voldemort tortured her to death in front of all of us, in front of him and Pansy. It got him in line and the rest of us scared as all hell." Draco involuntarily shuddered at the memory.

"That's so horrible. Poor Pansy." Hermione frowned, and suddenly she realized that she and the Slytherin witch had something else in common. Though the loss was quite different, the pain was still the same.

Draco nodded in agreement, "She was a right mess after. The one thing that brought her out of her depression was me, Blaise, and Theo teaching her how to fight hand to hand. It helped her release all her emotions. Being punched by a screaming girl isn't fun, let me tell you."

Hermione grinned at his attempt to joke. "So who would he kill...if you failed him and Severus had to do it?"

"My mother."

Her brow quirked in confusion. "Narcissa?" She felt slighted by the fact that it wasn't her, but that was foolish. She was upset that she wasn't about to be killed by the wizarding world's darkest wizard? Foolish!

"Yes. He...He got it wrong before. I've tried and failed to kill Dumbledore twice already." He said in a rush and waited for her reaction. He just knew she'd be outraged.

"Twice?! You've-twice, Draco?!" She sputtered. "When?! How?!" As if she was shocked by electricity, she jumped up and began pacing. "Explain. Now."

She did not disappoint. He could feel her emotional magic flowing around her every time she paced near him.

"Okay..." He watched her pace in front of him for five seconds before he rubbed his sweaty palms on his trousers and began. "Remember how Katie Bell got hurt in Hogsmeade? With the cursed necklace? And when Professor Slughorn got poisoned and the Boy Wonder and Weasel saved him? Both were my fault. Katie was supposed to take the necklace to him, I used the Imperius by the way, and Slughorn was supposed to gift it to Dumbledore."

Hermione felt faint at the onslaught of information but nodded along. "You were lucky neither of them died. I watched when Katie got hurt. It was awful."

"I know. I saw it too. I actually threw up in an alley after she was carried away." He confessed then carried on. "So, after I failed those two times, he got angry and wanted to put me back in line."

She wanted to comfort him but something akin to adrenaline was making her pace even faster as she listened intently.

"That day we...connected in the toilets." He began uncomfortably. "Do you remember noticing a letter I was reading?"

"The letter from your mother." She nodded.

Draco frowned and shook his head. "I lied. The letter I was reading was from him. He miscalculated and thought I loved Astoria Greengrass the most because we were betrothed since childhood."

"Wait." She paused, her expression thoughtful. "I remember reading about it. All that was said was that she had died at home. You guys mentioned her, but never gave details."

"He tortured her. She was...unrecognizable. He told her parents to bring her home and they did. I don't know if they knew what was to come and were doing it in case he went after Daphne, too, or if he lied to them. But once she got home, he and my aunt Bellatrix tortured her. They...used every hex and curse, according to his letter, and my aunt carved my name into her skin over and over." He visibly shuddered and couldn't help the tremor in his voice. He squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head as he continued. "They sent pictures to torture me and Daphne even further. He told Daphne it was all my fault and that's why any time you see us together, she's glaring daggers at me."

"And Theo drags her away." Hermione murmured, suddenly understanding and fighting back tears. "I can't believe that bastard. Draco, you should've told me. You should've told me everything." She went to him and knelt in front of him, sniffling and reaching for his hands. "I could've helped you, or been there for you."

"When was I supposed to tell you?" He asked and opened his eyes to stare into hers, feeling very much exposed and not minding one bit. He was still terrified she'd leave, but here she was holding onto him and crying because of what had happened. "It all happened that day and after...I didn't want to ruin us."

Hermione couldn't help but smile and then she shook her head. "It wouldn't have. Nothing is going to ruin us, Draco. I'm not going anywhere, I promise, so stop looking at me all frightened. We'll get through this." She smiled and reached up to give him a kiss that he gratefully returned.

It'd been four months since they shared their first kiss and it still felt as magical as ever. Draco felt chills go through him and a feeling of pure happiness while Hermione felt butterflies erupt from her belly and into her chest. When they were kissing, they felt happy and content.

"I don't deserve you." He murmured as he pulled away and bowed his head to rest his forehead against hers. "I truly don''t."

She sighed and shook her head, "That's not true." She chided lightly then pulled herself up to stand. "Now...Obviously Snape has a plan. Does Dumbledore know?"

He shrugged and shook his head, never having thought of it. Could his godfather have told the man they were meant to kill that he was a target? In an effort to help him, Severus had confided in him months ago that he was part of the Order but not as a spy for the Dark as everyone thought, he was truly on the Light's side, so did that mean that he would tell his leader and find a way to save him? Maybe put the old man in hiding somewhere?

"Well we'll find out soon enough. Snape said you were telling the Order everything, that includes Dumbledore." She shrugged and glanced at her watch before sitting beside him. "We have a bit of time before we can go. Now it's my turn."

Draco stared at her and reached over to grasp her hand. He noted her nervously biting her lower lip and frowned. "It can't be as bad as me telling you I was ordered to kill our Headmaster."

"It's not. It's just a secret I've kept for a very long time." She mumbled. "And I've only told one person before."

"Weasley?"

She shook her head immediately. "No. Harry. I told him right before I tossed Ron into the table. It was the reason Ron got so upset actually. Well, partly. Sort of. I mean, he didn't know the secret but it got him mad becaus-"

"How about you just tell me?" He interrupted her softly, smiling fondly as she started to go into her ramblings.

Hermione stopped and nodded quickly. "Okay." He watched as a look of determination replaced her nervousness and she sighed. "Do you remember earlier how you said that Snape should hide me? And then you said to get my parents and hide them too?"

Immediately, he nodded and explained why he said so. "I know you don't want to hide but it'd be safer. And it would be best to hide them too, because they'd use them to lure you out."

"I know why you suggested it and I'm so appreciative. I'm grateful you care about me that much."She smiled gratefully and squeezed his hand gently.

Draco couldn't help but smile and look down at their joined hands.

"But...My parents are...gone, Draco." Hermione confessed softly, staring at their hands too. "It's a secret I've kept for a while now. Since I got back home from the attack at the Department of Mysteries."

Draco's heart immediately dropped as he thought over her words.

 _Gone?_ _They were gone? Dead?_

And suddenly it made sense why she always got emotional when speaking of her parents and the things they used to do when she was young. He always noticed how tears would flood her eyes and she'd bite her lower lip to stop its quivering then look away whenever she'd randomly mention them. They were the only memories she'd have...

"Hermione, I'm so sorry." He sighed and pulled her into his side, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Why did you never say anything? How did they die?"

Hermione shook her head but leaned into him anyway, relishing in the comfort his warmth brought. "No, they're not dead. They're gone. I Obliviated them. The parents I had are gone."

His eyes widened in surprise at that. "Obliviated? It can't be reversed?"

Her shrug worried him a bit, she leaned back and forced him to as well. They were snuggled into the couch and she wrapped her arms around his waist then rested her head on his chest and he rested his free hand on her arm, rubbing soothing circles against her skin. "I read up on different memory spells. Ones as big as the one I did very rarely get reversed. If you erase too much, it's near impossible to get it back. So, I've come to terms with the fact that they're gone."

"I'm so sorry." He spoke softly and placed a kiss on the top of her head. It was a bit shocking that he felt his own heart ache upon hearing the sadness in her voice. But then, he supposed that's what love truly was; feeling what they felt. "Why did you do it in the first place?"

His brow furrowed as she shuddered for reasons unknown. "Hermione?"

"Remember I told you that Dolohov attacked me?" She asked quietly.

The turn in conversation confused him, but he answered anyway. "Yes. I even remember hearing about it after Lucius went to Azkaban." The next words burned his throat as he said them. "He nearly killed you."

With a small nod, she spoke again. "The thing is...It's like he got into my head when he cast the curse. I felt intense pain for a second and I remember blacking out. But then it was like he taunting me in the darkness. I could faintly hear everyone fighting, but then his voice rang everywhere."

Even though it happened months ago, tears still clouded her eyes as she recalled what had happened as she lied on the ground in the Department of Mysteries. She snuggled into Draco's chest even further, reminding herself that that part of her life was over. She was no longer being tormented in what felt like endless torture.

Draco could sense her torment and wrapped his arms just a bit tighter around her. He knew he didn't want to know the answer to the question that was burning his tongue. Nevertheless, he asked. "What was he saying?"

"He called me a mudblood." The chilling emptiness in her voice told him that she was doing what he had perfected over the years; she was shutting her emotions away so as not to feel them. And that troubled him to his core. "He said that once I was dead, and that I would be soon, he would go after my parents for breeding such an abomination. That they would never be safe. That he would always find the Grangers. So I turned them into other people as soon as I got home. Now they're the Wilkins couple living in Australia."

She knew that maybe it wasn't the best decision to tell him exactly where they were. So easily someone on the Dark side could peer into his mind, but she knew he was skilled in Occlumency and trusted that her secret was safe with him.

A feeling of admiration flooded him as he realized just how much bravery the girl he loved possessed. She sacrificed her parents to save them. So easily, she could've had them hidden in a safe house that he knew the Order must have or she could've taken them and gone into hiding with them. But instead, she chose to give them up forever.

All because of the evil people he had spent so much time with recently. No matter how foolish it was, he felt immensely guilty and silently vowed to do whatever it took to give her her parents back.

"I don't know what to say except I'm so sorry you had to do that." He sighed after her words settled in the air.

She sniffled slightly and shook her head. "Don't apologize. It's not on you."

Rather than argue, he left it alone.

"So that's all you needed to confess?" He asked after another beat of silence. When she nodded slightly, he sat up and glanced at his own watch. "Well, our hour is nearly up. We have to go."

Hermione sat up with him and quickly dried her eyes before taking a deep breath. "Draco..."

He froze as he was about to stand and stared at her expectantly. His gray eyes peering into her very soul made her stomach do a million flips as she carried on.

"You're the only other person who knows where they are. It's just me and you. If anything happens to me, please check in on them from time to time." She knew once the words were out in the open, she'd regret it. And she did the moment his eyes darkened and his hands clenched into tight fists.

He ground his teeth for a moment before he controlled himself. Visions of her lying in his arms with blood pooling around them had invaded his mind upon hearing her request. The dream he had had the day he connected with her had plagued him on a weekly basis now, as if it was a vision meant to torment him.

Hearing her ask him to watch over her parents in the event that she died put him on edge and he didn't like it one bit.

"You're not dying; not for a very long time, so don't even think like that. Do you understand? I don't want you to think like that." His voice was controlled but she could hear the anxiety anyway.

Slowly, she nodded her head. She would just bring the subject up later and make him promise. "Fine. Let's go."

As they both stood, automatically they reached for the other's hand before walking towards the door and out of their secret room.

Glancing quickly around the hallways, they sprinted to McGonagall's classroom. They didn't notice the two Slytherins and lone Gryffindor lurking in the shadows nor their professors watching them in shock.

* * *

"What did I tell you?" The Gryffindor asked in a rage. "They're a bloody couple!"

The taller Slytherin shook with anger as he watched his former friend holding onto the Mudblood's hand. "I can't believe Draco would do this."

"Well he did." The other Slytherin spat. "And now he's gonna pay for being a blood traitor."

The Gryffindor immediately tutted. "Remember the plan! Malfoy pays later. She pays now."

The two Slytherins shared an evil smirk as they contemplated how and when they'd attack.


	10. Chapter 9

The classroom was uncharacteristically roomy; the desks were gone and there were chairs set in a circle that was enough for all the Order members with one lone chair in the center; Draco was currently sitting in it. To Tonks it looked like a mock Wizengamot hearing but she had never been to a meeting where a recruit spoke, so maybe they did that on purpose.

She looked over at the people seated and noticed Professor Sprout and Flitwick giving her young cousin distrustful looks while Hermione was giving him encouraging smiles. McGonagall was standing behind Hermione with a somewhat proud twinkle in her eyes. Snape looked bored, but when did he not? Hagrid was standing in the corner of the room, seeming to observe his student seated in the center of the circle while also giving Hermione curious looks. The one missing was Dumbledore.

"Well, Professor, you were right. This is an interesting recruit." Remus spoke with a quiet chuckle as he and Tonks walked fully into the room. Draco took a break from gazing at Hermione and glanced at his cousin and her boyfriend. He felt a smirk tug at his lips as Tonks winked at him in greeting.

As Remus and Tonks took their seats to Hermione's right, McGonagall moved to stand now behind Remus and told him that they were going to wait until Albus was present to start the routine questioning.

Draco once again looked away from his girlfriend when Tonks cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "So, is this what you meant about having a plan?" She asked, not caring that the other professors around her looked confused (McGonagall, Hagrid, and Snape) and suspicious (Flitwick and Sprout).

The smirk Draco gave her made her smirk back as he shook his head. "Not even close. I was pretty much lying when I told you that. I'm winging it right now. Jumping to the right side for once."

"Well it suits you, dear cousin. I'm quite proud of you." Tonks spoke softly with a genuine smile that matched Hermione's.

Draco looked touched and stared down at his hands in either embarrassment or to hide the fact that he was smiling, she wasn't too sure.

Hermione felt what Tonks was feeling as she watched him sitting where she once sat.

They had asked her if she was ready to fight people she had possibly grown up with in school and if she was prepared to take a life if necessary, as they all had to do at one point or another. Her answers were easy. She knew his would be, too.

Pride coursed through her veins; she had been so sure he would stay on the Dark side for his mother, then eventually turn neutral. Never did she dream that he would change sides so openly and willingly.

As she took note of the glares her professors were giving her boyfriend, she was beginning to realize that this was going to be exactly like a Wizengamot meeting. And she was more than sure that she would be defending her boyfriend to them all. Perhaps Tonks would too.

She had hoped that the Order members would go easy on him, as they did with her, and just ask questions like if he was sure he wanted to join and if he knew what that would entail. Now, glancing at their faces, she doubted that would happen.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Dumbledore opened the classroom door and strode in with an aura of superiority and tranquility.

Everyone sat up a bit straighter as he went to take his seat, even Draco, and Hagrid went to take a seat on the enlarged chair that was conjured for him.

"Should we wait for Harry and Ron?" Hagrid wondered and Draco's expression soured for the briefest of moments.

Dumbledore shook his head, "I didn't call for them. I'm sure Hermione can update them later tonight. Can't you, Hermione?" He glanced at the witch with questioning eyes, prompting her to nod.

Draco and Hermione shared a slightly confused look, everyone at school knew that she no longer spoke to the boys. Perhaps Dumbledore was out of the loop?

"Mister Malfoy, Professor McGonagall tells me that you're ready to join the Order." Dumbledore spoke softly after offering everyone in his Circle a small smile, letting them know it was time to begin.

Draco's attention immediately went to the old wizard and he seemed uncharacteristically nervous as he nodded. "I am."

Apparently it was time for anyone to speak as Professor Sprout asked, "And why are you so ready? Why now?"

Glancing at Hermione for the quickest of moments, Draco took a deep breath before responding. "Well, because I don't want to be a part of the dark side and I didn't have the courage to come to you until now."

"And why don't you want to be a part of their side?" Professor Flitwick asked with a small frown. "You've been quite on the Dark's side for years."

"I don't believe in what they do anymore. I don't think I ever really did. They want to kill anyone they think is below purebloods and I don't believe in that." Draco spoke without hesitation and his voice was strong. Hermione was sure that it was impossible for them to not believe him. "I don't want to kill nor do I want to be involved with people that kill in cold blood."

"You've been a right bully for years. 'Specially to Hermione here. You'd call her a mudblood all the time. You even wished her dead in second year, the boys told me so! How can we believe that you don't believe in what they do?" Hagrid was the one to ask this time.

Hermione blushed at the mention of her name and what was said when they were all twelve as Draco nodded slowly and flinched slightly. "Bullying as a child and murdering people are two different things. I was young and never thought that what I was saying, and repeating, would come true. I don't expect you to believe me immediately, but I have changed. I would never even dream of calling Hermione that word again. I would protect her with my life. She knows that. I would never be like my father and his comrades."

Before any of her other professors could try and dispute those statements, Hermione spoke up, fighting the emotions his words invoked. "I know for a fact that he has changed. I trust him completely. He's apologized, done so more times than I can even count, and he's treated me perfectly well for the last six months. He defends me to other Slytherins who call me names. He tried to secure my protection an hour ago. He's not like any of us thought. He was forced to be a small part of the Death Eaters and now he's finally doing what he wants by coming to us. How can you not believe him? Look him in the eye, at least."

Every professor went silent as they processed her words and Draco's words in regards to her.

Draco worked hard to keep the smile off his face as his chest burned with gratitude and affection for his witch. "Exactly what she said. I _was_ forced to join them, I've been forced this whole time to try and..." He trailed off, not wanting to say the words but knowing he had to soon. "I've been forced. Ever since my father was arrested."

"Forced to do what, exactly?" Snape asked, though he knew the answer better than even Hermione. He knew Draco had to be prompted, he could sense the fear in his godson and wished he could've shielded him from all of this.

"They're forcing me to do something I don't want to do. I have orders to...to kill you, Professor." Draco spoke uneasily, staring Dumbledore in the eye.

And then chaos ensued.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Harry, I lost her. Forever." Ron uttered forlornly while staring at the fire burning in the Gryffindor common room's hearth. "The way she looked at me...She's gone. She wants nothing to do with me."

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes as he watched his best friend mourn the relationship that had been dead for months now.

He had no idea why Ron was suddenly realizing that he had messed up with Hermione so severely, he had no clue what had changed, but he was annoyed that Ron was so upset _now_. It took whatever happened on his way to the dorms for him to see that they both had lost Hermione.

"What happened exactly?"

Ron snorted while shaking his head slowly. "She said she'd rather die than be anything to me. She was so...She looked at me like _he_ used to look at her. There was absolute hate in her eyes and her words were so cruel. He was probably proud of her."

"As if yours haven't been just as cruel towards her?" Harry asked sarcastically. He knew that that may have been a bit harsh, but he couldn't stop himself. Ron was his best mate, but Hermione truly felt like a sister to him and he felt the need to protect and defend her more than the redhead sitting in front of him.

Ron flinched then began to nod. "I've been horrible to her. I know."

Harry had wanted to say something like _good_ or _it's about time_ but he bit his tongue. His best friend looked to be tormented enough now and he was admitting he was in the wrong. It was a good step.

"And you should have seen Malfoy with her. He stepped between us as I was coming up so naturally. It was like he didn't even realize he was doing it, just like I used to when he'd walk up. And she was holding his arm. I think..." Ron choked on his next words and felt tears stinging his eyes. Harry noticed the moisture gathering there, too, and bit his lip nervously. He knew before Ron spoke that he must've figured it out, too. "I think they're together, Harry."

With regret swarming in his gut for not warning his best friend, Harry nodded. He really didn't want to cause his friend so much pain but he knew keeping it a secret wasn't an option anymore and would inevitably hurt him more later on. "I think so too. I saw him guiding her out of class today. He was...gentle with her. And a few weeks ago, Ginny mentioned that...that she caught them embracing in the library. She had said they looked like they'd been snogging. That Hermione's hair and jumper were a bit messed up and Malfoy's cheeks had a bit of color to them."

The words made Ron cringe and curl in on himself even further and Harry shut his mouth. He didn't dare mention that he had noticed Hermione holding Malfoy's hand during Astronomy class while they stargazed the night before.

"I'm sorry, Ron."

"I love her, you know." Ron whispered after a few minutes of silence. "I really love her. I dreamt of us graduating here and going off to get married like my parents and have a family. I thought that we'd get there eventually. Mum and Dad only got together in their seventh year and I thought we would be just like them. Fighting like cats and dogs while we feed babies and have a couple more kids running around. I wanted that with her. And I made her hate me instead." Ron looked on the verge of sobbing now, his voice wobbled as he carried on. "I just want to see her and talk to her without him there. I'll tell her how I feel and pray she comes back to me. I'll take everything back and beg her forgiveness. But she won't listen to me if he's there."

Harry had no idea what to say to that and instead of struggling to figure it out, he stood and left the room in a hurry without a word to his best friend. He thought he could hear Ron succumb to his tears, which only made him pick up his pace even more.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to say to convince Hermione to go with him, he just had to find Hermione. He had to tell her what Ron just said, that he was ready to kick his pride to the wind and apologize. He had to get her back to the common room and have his best friends work it all out. It was all going to be fixed soon, he could feel it.

As he power walked down to the floor the library was located on, he prayed that Hermione was alone or at least with Pansy. He could handle the annoying brunette Slytherin far better than he could Malfoy.

Harry jumped from the third step of the final staircase and as he landed, he promptly turned the corner and bumped into tall maroon robes. With a grunt, he reached out reflexively to steady himself and felt long fingers grip his upper arms to steady him.

"Mr. Potter, where are you off to in such a hurry?" The Headmaster's voice asked with concern. It wasn't often that students raced through the halls when they were meant to be going to bed.

Harry realized that he was a bit breathless as he tried to regain his composure. He dropped his hands from the velvety robes and swallowed thickly. "Sir...I'm sorry. I was looking for Hermione."

"What ever for?" Dumbledore asked curiously while releasing his hold on Harry's arms. "I'm meeting with Miss Granger shortly. Perhaps I can pass a message along. She will be back to her dorms shortly after."

Harry quirked his brow and was tempted to ask why he was meeting with her before he recalled why he was searching her out. "Well, it's a bit complicated, Sir. The past few months, she's been rather close to Malfoy and a few other Slytherins. We've been...fighting. Hermione, Ron, and I have been at odds and exchanged a lot of...Let's just say that now we're as close as Malfoy is to Ron."

Harry felt the shame course through him at Dumbledore's disappointed gaze. Apparently, he had had no idea about the trio's lack of friendship.

"I knew you three were going through a rift recently. I just didn't know it was quite so severe."

"It is. She...She hates us, I think. Though we deserve it." Harry shook his head and frowned, guilt gnawing at him. "We've been incredibly mean to her, Ron especially. After the incident in the Great Hall, things haven't been the same. I've tried to mend things before, but I couldn't help but be angry that she's so close to Malfoy. And she won't have anyone speaking against him. I wanted to try again tonight. Ron really...we both really miss her."

Dumbledore pursed his lips in thought before speaking in a soft tone. "Have you considered that he may not be as bad as you and Mr. Weasley have assumed?"

Harry immediately grimaced at the thought. "My gut says that he's hiding something, Professor."

"And what if that something isn't as sinister as you think?" Dumbledore asked in a way that told Harry to think about everything and not answer him at all. With a soft smile and a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave. "I'll let Miss Granger know you wished to speak to her."

Harry could only nod before stumbling back up the stairs and wander the halls aimlessly, hoping that if he paced long enough, Dumbledore would send Hermione to him.

* * *

After confessing what Voldemort demanded of him, it was a tense few seconds and Draco and Hermione both had the sudden urge to grasp each other and run away from it all.

As Hagrid screamed out that he should be locked up alongside his father, Sprout looked to be close to fainting or crying. McGonagall placed a hand over her abdomen and looked at Dumbledore with worried eyes and Remus stood and went right to Hermione. Hermione immediately stood and crossed her arms, trying and failing to hide her discomfort as her friend and professor spoke to her, probably asking how much she knew and why she didn't confide in him.

"Why would you keep this from me?!" Tonks' shrill voice was the loudest to Draco's ears and he couldn't help but flinch, but not because of the sound. He truly felt as if he were becoming close to his cousin but wasn't ready for anyone to know. "Draco, I thought we were bonding and that I made it clear you could come to me! That you could trust me! What the f-"

Flitwick's own voice was screaming a warning for Draco to back away from the Headmaster with his wand brandished menacingly. Snape saw the threat and immediately went to pluck the wand from his grasp before he could do any harm to his godson. "Do not threaten my godson, Filius." Snape seethed and the words started an argument between the two.

Draco's eyes shifted until his gaze met his girlfriend's - who was nibbling on her lower lip while still speaking to Remus - and her worry was glaringly obvious to him; he was so grateful that she wasn't looking at him with loathing or disgust like the majority of the people gathered around them were.

"Enough!" Dumbledore's normally soft and gentle voice morphed into a resonating boom that made everyone freeze in silence.

Tonks clenched her jaw respectfully but kept glaring at her young cousin. She couldn't help but feel slighted by his refusal to confide in her. And guilt began to radiate from Draco's gut.

With everyone silent and retaking their seats (and wands), his voice went back to normal as he gazed at Draco and offered a small smile. "I already know this, Draco."

Draco's lips parted in surprise as he moved his eyes to Hermione's then his godfather's. She smirked and shrugged slightly, it was logical that he would know. Snape only nodded once, to confirm that he had been the one to tell him. Though if he figured it out alone, it wouldn't be too odd. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything.

The rest of the room had gasped at his words and all but one bit their tongue.

"You've known that you're the target of a planned assassination and said nothing?! You've done nothing?! Albus, have you lost your mind?!" McGonagall shouted and to anyone else, she would've sounded furious, but Hermione could see the slight tremor in her fingertips that exposed her fears.

"I haven't done _nothing_ exactly." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as he turned to his good friend. "Severus and I have a plan, but it's imperative that only a select few are aware of the details. All you need to know is that I'm handling it."

Hagrid mumbled something about locking Draco up now before he succeeded and Hermione was about to yell at him when Tonks beat her to it. "He came to us to tell us everything, Hagrid, so I doubt we have to prevent anything! He even said he didn't want to do what he was told!"

"I don't want to harm Professor Dumbledore." Draco spoke and his voice did not betray even an ounce of his discomfort. "I've been forced to attempt to, that I shamefully admit, but it was never my choice."

Hagrid scoffed while Flitwick did his best to sneer. "How can you say you had no choice?! I'd sooner die than kill someone for You Know Who!"

"He doesn't have a choice, Professor! Voldemort threatened to kill his mum!" Hermione shouted before Draco could even form the words. "Voldemort already killed someone because Draco displeased him!"

Snape pursed his lips and forced himself not to show any emotion toward Hermione when he really wanted to grin at her gratefully. He was happy that his godson did have someone else fighting for him and that she still was there for him after learning what he did.

"Who did You Know Who kill?" Remus asked as he turned to Draco.

Draco went impossibly paler and Hermione noticed the slight quivering of his lower lip before he squared his shoulders. "Astoria Greengrass."

The other professors all held solemn and shocked expressions, save for Albus and Severus, as they each shared glances. They all remembered the report the Order received from Shacklebolt; their young student had been tortured horribly, her body mutilated with cuts of illegible writing, before she was killed and left in her family's foyer where the family House Elf had stumbled upon her body.

Tonks especially remembered her mother, who had been inconsolable and clearly unaware of why her daughter had been targeted, as she was the one who had to question everyone in the home per Kingsley's orders. The entire case had broken Tonks' heart and she had cited it as the reason for her resignation. She and Shacklebolt had been convinced it was You Know Who's doing, hence why they went to the Order with it, but there was no solid proof.

Now they knew.

"He killed her because you hadn't yet killed Albus?" Tonks asked in a small voice. Her heart clenched as she watched her cousin swallow heavily and shake his head. "Then why?"

"Because I..." Draco whispered miserably, his hands were shaking and his eyes watered, and Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She stood and for a split second, Draco feared that she was going to leave the room and him, but she only frowned and went to his side, pulling her chair with her. As she pushed her chair close to his and took her seat, he wanted to cry as she reached out and grasped his hand in front of everyone. She whispered to him that it was going to be okay and he felt better instantly. She may not have realized, but her touch gave him the strength to carry on. "...He killed her because I failed twice. It was my punishment."

Everyone but Severus, Tonks, and Remus were stunned by Hermione's bold move. Then his words caused everyone but Severus to stare in shock.

"Twice?" Tonks spoke when she realized there was no uproar from her stunned colleagues.

He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, "I have already tried twice to...to kill Professor Dumbledore. I was told that I'd pay if I didn't do as I was told. I feared that my mother would be killed, since my father isn't there to protect her, or try to protect her. It was me that left the poisoned drink to Professor Slughorn, as I knew he had planned to gift it to Professor Dumbledore."

Quickly he looked at all his professors with a pleading look in his eyes. "Please don't think I did it without any regrets or self hatred. I heard of what happened to Professor Slughorn and was sick for days." Again, he looked down at his lap as shame filled his very core. "And I Imperiused Katie Bell to take the cursed necklace to him as well, and I watched her get cursed and got sick in an alleyway, cried and very nearly turned my wand on myself. I was too much of a coward to say the killing curse." He wished he hadn't said that as he felt Hermione's hand tremble in his.

Hermione then chose to squeeze Draco's hand that much tighter, fighting her shakes, and he felt his gut squirm - he forgot that he hadn't told her that part..."So I stopped any other types of plans I was trying to come up with. I thought that he would be lenient if he knew I'd tried but he was only angrier and killed her in an effort to scare me because we were betrothed." His voice broke then as he spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt anyone else, I never did. Please understand. I'm not like them. I don't want to be like them."

Everyone was silent as they absorbed his words and both Hermione and Tonks wanted to cry because neither had known that he was so close to harming himself to escape Voldemort's orders. Both of them, for a moment too long, imagined a world where neither of them reconnected with and grew to love Draco and felt sick themselves.

Hagrid quietly admitted his apology to Draco, as did Sprout and Flitwick, and it was clear they all believed he was on their side and could be trusted.

"You should've told me." Tonks whispered with a shake of her head and teary eyes. "I understand why you didn't, but still..I could've helped you...or been there for you."

Snape had known of his godson's suicidal moment, as the boy confided to him after collapsing into broken sobs in the dungeons, and instead of becoming emotional like the others, he told Tonks what had made Draco hesitant. "You're an Auror. Perhaps that is what stopped him."

"I'm not anymore. And I'm his cousin first and foremost." Tonks snapped back, her hair flickering to red. Remus, who was still stunned by Draco's entire confession, quickly paced back to her and put his hand atop hers then whispered to her to calm down.

"In any case," Dumbledore rushed out before his former students could begin arguing. "we all understand the turmoil you've endured this year. And we will help you. I'll divulge my plan to you, if you'd want to hear it now."

Hermione immediately nodded while Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and Hagrid stood to leave, remembering that Dumbledore had said only a select few can know the plan. They weren't quite so disenchanted as to believe they were in the Inner Circle.

Hagrid waved to Hermione, silently telling her that he wished to speak with her about her relationship with Draco as he glanced at their joined hands. Sprout and Flitwick offered to help the boy in any way they could while practically being shoved out of the door by Snape. He moved to Tonks and was stopped by her stubborn nature.

Tonks stood with Remus' hand firmly held in hers and jutted her chin out defiantly to her former professor. "I'm staying to hear the plan as well."

"No." Snape deadpanned.

"Draco is underage." Tonks growled. "He's my cousin."

Snape shrugged, "He's my godson."

"Severus...It's okay. I want her here." Draco spoke up before Tonks could argue further. "And you as well, Remus."

"Then that's settled." Dumbledore spoke with ease while gesturing for everyone to retake their seats.

* * *

Harry ended up going back to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve the Marauder's Map. Ron was still in the spot where he left him. His nose and eyes were as red as his hair and he kept sniffling. Harry mumbled that he'd be right back before jogging to his room and rummaging through his trunk.

With his parchment in hand, he came back down to the common room and Ron still hadn't moved and refused to look in Harry's direction. Harry was going to say that he was about to get Hermione when the portrait door opened and several third years ran in, looking pleased that they made it in time for curfew.

He stuffed the map into his back pocket before rushing out of the room and going back down the staircase to wait for Hermione. He was almost sure that Hermione would try her best to avoid him, no matter what Dumbledore said to her. If she knew that he wanted to speak to her, he wouldn't blame her if she ran to try and sleep in the library.

So he sat on the bottom step and pulled the wand and map out. Tapping it thrice, like the twins taught him, he watched as names and lines appeared over the parchment. He scanned it until he saw Hermione's name hovering in a classroom. He was shocked to see so many others crowded there as well.

Hagrid, Flitwick, and Sprout had footsteps that were filing out of the classroom while Tonks' name hovered close to Snape's and Remus'. Hermione's name was close to Malfoy's and Harry felt uneasy as he saw Dumbledore pacing closer to them both while McGonagall just paced in general.

This looked like an Order meeting to Harry. That was what all the names, besides Malfoy, had in common. Each of them had once sat at Grimmauld Place together and now he wondered why Malfoy was there. Did it have anything to do with Dumbledore's cryptic words about a secret of his?

He heard voices coming closer just then and moved his gaze to where he saw his own name hovering over the staircase and jumped as his Professors' names approached. Quickly, he folded the parchment and put it back in his pocket.

"'Harry? What are you doing out here this late?" Hagrid's voice boomed as the trio moved closer to their student. "You should be in your room."

Flitwick and Sprout knew that Hagrid was close to Harry and would handle him being out so late without any assistance from them, so they waved half heartedly and paced to the spare classroom that served as a teacher's lounge and discussed what they just discovered.

"I'm waiting for Hermione. Professor Dumbledore said he was meeting with her and he'd tell her that I was looking for her. I wanted to talk to her." Harry explained and worked to avoid the nervous swarm in his gut as he tried to act ignorant. "So I'm just...waiting for her.. What are you doing in here?"

Hagrid wasn't fooled by Harry's attempts and frowned. "You know why. I'm sure you used that blasted map. She'll be coming soon. She stayed behind to...talk things out."

Dropping the act, Harry crossed his arms. "What's going on, Hagrid?"

He never could lie to the boy in front of him and sighed. "Somethin's coming. Somethin bad. That's all I'll say because Dumbledore will have my head if I tell you everythin' before he can."

Harry felt the nerves double but nodded anyway. "Okay...Then I'm just going to wait right here."

"I have to go...and think. Don't let yourself be caught by Professor Snape." Hagrid warned in a forlorn tone before walking out without waiting for a response.

Harry had absolutely no idea what Hagrid meant, what Malfoy was doing meeting with Dumbledore and Hermione, or what kind of secret he could be hiding and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

"Mister Malfoy, forgive me for a lack of a better term...your deadline is tomorrow, is it not?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco nodded slowly, still grasping Hermione's hand, "Tomorrow night, yes."

Hermione and Tonks, who now sat across from each other, shared an uneasy look while Remus leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He was now sitting directly across from Draco. "What exactly happens tomorrow?"

"I thought we were going to be made aware of Dumbledore's plan?" McGonagall asked tersely from her seat on Remus' other side.

"Patience, Minerva." Dumbledore chided gently. "Draco, go on. It's best that your cousins are made aware of everything."

Tonks' brow quirked when the headmaster referred to Remus as Draco's cousin, since they were not married and hadn't even discussed it much yet, and looked over to her boyfriend who grinned at the words. She ignored the warmth spreading in her chest and focused on her cousin.

"First, I was supposed to be mending a vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. It was so that Death Eaters could come in and infiltrate Hogwarts." Draco began uneasily. "I lied and sent a letter saying that Dumbledore used some type of old magic to hide the Room of Requirement from me to get out of it."

Hermione was just hearing these details for the first time and frowned. "They believed you?"

Draco nodded while Snape responded. "Of course Bellatrix was suspicious but I backed him up and said Albus warned me that someone was trying to use the Room for dark purposes and he erected wards with blood magic. Voldemort believed me easily."

Tonks sighed and began nibbling on her thumbnail nervously. "But they must've found another way to get in. Right?"

"They want Hogwarts' wards down." Draco replied.

McGonagall immediately scoffed. "That's preposterous. How would a sixth year student manage that?"

Hermione frowned then and shared a glance with Remus. Both of them had an immediate inkling of the Dark's plan.

Dumbledore glanced at Draco questioningly. "They think once I'm dead, the wards I've added my magic to will die with me?"

Draco could only nod while Hermione shook her head. "We won't let that happen, Professor."

Remus agreed wholeheartedly. "No harm will come to you and they won't get in."

"We'll even add extra protection to the wards and you." McGonagall added.

Snape frowned deeper than he normally would and Tonks noticed the look he shared with the headmaster. "What are you two hiding?"

"I...My plan is...to die. Tomorrow night. Per Voldemort's orders." Dumbledore spoke solemnly and steeled himself for the outbursts he knew were to come.

McGonagall and Hermione both gasped in horror while Tonks squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Remus and Draco froze in shock before the younger of the two turned to glare at his godfather.

"You swore to me that he wouldn't die!" Draco shouted while McGonagall stood from her seat and resumed her frantic pacing.

Snape scoffed, "I swore to you that you wouldn't be the one to kill him. There's a difference. That _honor_ ," He spat the word as if it were bile. "goes to me."

"What?!" Remus finally spoke. "You can't be serious!"

"You can't just bloody give up and keel over." Tonks scolded with her eyes still shut, trying to keep the tears at bay. Her volume matching her cousin's perfectly and her hair changing to red instantly. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

"If you give up, what does that mean for us?! You're our bloody leader!" Remus hollered, a peculiar feeling of betrayal and abandonment egging him on. "You're supposed to help us and guide us like before but you'd rather just die?! Just let one of us kill you?! For what?! What will this accomplish?!"

Hermione was openly crying and looked at Snape while Remus fumed. "You can't seriously agree to any of this, Professor."

"I don't. It's either Draco or me that does it. There's no other way. And the last thing you or I want is for Draco to cast the killing curse." Snape spoke with a slightly softer tone to her, but it went unnoticed in all the turmoil.

"Why you?! Why anybody?! He doesn't have to die!" Draco shouted again, his chest burning with confusion and anger. Hermione choked on a sob while nodding in agreement. "He's the one who's going to fucking save us all from him!"

McGonagall sniffled loudly. "The boy is right. We can't do anything without you, Albus. You dying will only give the Dark side an advantage! We can put a stop to it now! We have enough forewarning!"

"It's not about a lack of forewarning. I'm dying anyway." Albus spoke softly to the group.

Snape ground his teeth together. "And I took the vow, Draco. Remember? I vowed that I'd do the job in Draco's place. It has to happen. There's no way to get out of a Vow. One of us has to die and our _gracious_ leader thinks I'm too valuable to die just yet."

"What do you mean you're dying anyway?" Remus asked while Draco fought the urge to punch something and McGonagall started to mumble about foolish wizards.

"Why would you even take the Vow like that?! I thought you were just vowing to help me?!" Draco asked miserably as Hermione and Tonks sniffled. "Have you lost all sense?!"

Dumbledore raised his hands to quiet everyone into silence and sniffles before speaking. "I encountered a curse of Voldemort's. Severus isolated it to my hand but it's only a matter of time before it spreads and kills me."

Hermione wanted to ask what kind of curse it was but bit her tongue as Snape began to speak. "And I took the vow because your mother begged me, Draco. She begged me to save you, though I was already planning to. I'm your Godfather and would've done so anyway."

That made Draco begin to cry as he dropped his head in his hands. "I don't want Dumbledore to die and I don't want you to be in Azkaban for it."

"I won't be going to Azkaban." Snape reassured him. "This is how Death Eaters will take over Hogwarts while we still have some control without them even knowing it. I'll become Headmaster and watch over as many as I can as he sends in people."

McGonagall spoke next. "And what about the muggleborn students? What about these two here? And our professors? Remus will be targeted just as much as Hermione and Draco! Tonks as well because of her parents!"

"We'll go into hiding." Remus suggested immediately, reaching for Tonks' hand and grasping it firmly.

Tonks looked to her cousin with concern as her grip tightened. "We can take Draco and Hermione with us."

"I've already thought of that. Remus, it would be best that you and Tonks hide. Hermione will be...I want Hermione to go on a special mission for me. Draco can easily be hidden with an Order member." Dumbledore explained. "Any other Muggleborn students shall be sent home tomorrow morning and told to stay far away the coming school year. No doubt when word spreads that Hogwarts has been infiltrated, their parents will disappear too."

McGonagall mentioned something about being sick before she stormed out of the room. Dumbledore frowned as the door swung shut and made a mental note to go and speak to her before he retired to his room.

Draco dropped his hands from his face and, like Remus, reached over for his girlfriend's hand. "I'm not going anywhere without Hermione. She's a target, the most famous muggleborn, and I won't let her go on some mission alone."

Hermione grinned at the protectiveness but looked at her headmaster and noticed his twinkling eyes that told her he had a better idea. "What is it, Professor?"

"I was going to say that you wouldn't be alone. I want you to go to Ron and Harry and tell them what I'm about to tell you. It's up to you three to carry out what I know needs to be done to win this war. Though, with Draco there as well...I think the mission would be even better executed."

Snape scoffed while Remus furrowed his brow and spoke what Tonks and Snape were both thinking. "They're underage, Albus. They're children. You can't put that much pressure on them!"

"They can handle it." Hermione and Draco shared a glance as if to say they begged to differ.

"Then tell me what needs to be done and I can help them. It's not like I'm going to be teaching for much longer." Tonks bit out.

Hermione and Draco remained silent as their professors began to argue further.

"It's not your place." Dumbledore said simply.

"The hell it is!" Tonks fired back.

Snape raised a brow, "I don't often agree with these two, Albus, but perhaps they'd be better suited for the task at hand."

"I agree. We have more experience." Remus reasoned.

Tonks nodded. "I'm a former Auror. I've had training. Remus is the best damn dueler in the Order. We can handle whatever you want to throw at the kids."

Draco made a face at the fact that he was being referring to as a kid, but he met Hermione's gaze and, from her pursed lips, he knew it was best to remain silent still.

"See? Better suited. Let them handle it." Snape said with a smirk.

"I've already told you that Harry must do it. And he simply cannot do it alone, he needs Ron and Hermione. And since Draco won't leave Hermione's side, he has to go too." Hermione was shocked to hear the Headmaster begin to sound frustrated.

Remus recognized the frustration as well and his old Marauder ways kicked in. With a shake of his head, he stood from his seat with a calculating look in his eye. "Fine. We'll go to our quarters while you explain to these two what you need done. Obviously, Severus knows it all already. Come on, Dora, we aren't needed here anymore."

"I want you here." Draco argued as Tonks stood as well.

Tonks' hair was still flaming red as she gazed questioningly at Remus. "I want to stay."

"Let's go." Remus softly commanded and for three seconds, the two stared into each other's eyes as if they were silently communicating. Remus had a small grin as Tonks rolled her eyes and began walking to the door in defeat.

Dumbledore either didn't suspect anything or chose to ignore the peculiar actions. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more. Once the war is over, I hope you understand why I'm doing what I am doing."

"We'll see if we survive first." Tonks grumbled before walking out.

Remus looked to Draco and Hermione and smiled. "I hope you two aren't leaving tonight. If so, I won't be sleeping much so say your goodbyes if you can."

Hermione fought the grin that threatened to break free as she immediately understood what he meant. She only nodded her response as Draco gave a halfhearted wave, muttering to himself.

As the door closed once again, Snape stood from his seat and paced to the corner of the room. "I hope you know what you're doing, Albus. You're improvising."

"I do and I'm not improvising. I simply factored Draco into the plan in a speedy fashion. It will all still work." Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Can we get on with what you want her to know? I assume you want her to explain to Potter and Weasley?" Draco snapped. "As if they'd listen to whatever she has to say."

Hermione frowned at that. "He has a point, Professor. Harry, Ron, and I aren't on the best terms right now. Any plan you have may not work simply because the boys well and truly hate me right now."

"They don't hate you. I know for a fact that Harry is hoping to mend his friendship with you tonight. Which is perfect timing, if I do say so myself."

Hermione looked skeptical but said nothing.

Snape openly rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to be here? I could be arranging for certain members of my house to leave the school."

"You are dismissed, Severus." Dumbledore said in a clipped tone.

Draco recognized the enraged look in his godfather's eyes as he stormed out. _And then there were three._ He thought to himself as Dumbledore turned his focus back on them.

Hermione squeezed his hand nervously. "Fine. It's just us, so tell us. Whatever it is, I'll try to get along with Ron and Harry to get it done. If it's as important as you say it is..."

Draco swallowed down any scathing comments about the pair of Gryffindors he despised as Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak.

"Have either of you heard of Horcruxes?"

* * *

 _ **Hi! I'm really sorry if theres any inconsistencies with anything here. it's been so freaking long since I've written for this story that I may or may not have forgotten certain things! I've focused my limited time on writing this when I probably should've reread chapters hehe but I hope you like this! We're really starting to get into the angsty action!**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**Here's a long one! Sit tight and enjoy!**_

* * *

Hermione felt sick to her stomach as she slowly made her way up the staircases to get to her common room. Dumbledore's words were still buzzing in her head and her right hand was still tingling from how tight Draco grasped it in his own while the worry and nerves were churning.

After Dumbledore explained exactly what a horcrux was and why they were relevant, he stressed that it was of the upmost importance that each of Voldemort's needed to be destroyed. He kept saying that it was up to her and the boys to find them and destroy them. And that he hoped Draco could help them, that maybe four would be better than three after all.

Draco had said that it wasn't fair, that they were all too young and inexperienced to do something so momentous; their headmaster looked apologetic but kept saying it had to be them. Then he told Draco to continue playing his part while the other Death Eaters watched, that he had to let them in and let Snape take over then disappear in the battle that was sure to break out.

This is what made Draco grasp Hermione's hand so tight and the worry triple in her. How was he going to let them in? He hadn't fixed the damn cabinet and he wasn't that skilled at wards. Then another thought: How the hell was he supposed to just disappear? In front of all the Death Eaters hell bent on making him just like them? They'd brand him a traitor and search for him.

Dumbledore assured them he'd lower the wards himself before his timed death, then he told Draco to speak to his godfather about a means to escape. While they worried, he then decided to go speak with McGonagall. Before he left, he told Hermione that she had to inform the boys of the new developments before his plan was in motion come the following evening.

That's why Hermione felt like the contents of her stomach were about to expel all over her robes and the stone steps. She kept her cool as she walked with Draco down to the Slytherin common room to meet with Snape and knew that he was holding it together for her just the same. He had wanted to walk her up to the Gryffindor common room but she told him no. She told him that she planned to talk to the boys, who she knew were still up, and thought it best that he avoided them for now. She also had to stop by Remus and Tonks' room to tell them what Dumbledore didn't want to share. But now that she was alone, she didn't know what to do.

How was she supposed to tell either of them anything when they were at such intense odds with each other? And they both absolutely hated the wizard she had come to love, so how could she tell them that he was supposed to come with them on this mission of Dumbledore's?! The only way was for her to swallow whatever shit they threw at her long enough to tell them what she needed to.

She began to nibble on her thumbnail and stared at the floor as she finally made it to the right floor. Before she got to the magical portrait, something she couldn't see barged straight into her. Her shocked scream echoed down the hall as invisible hands grabbed her roughly to steady her.

"'Mione! It's me!" A familiar voice hissed while shaking her by the shoulders. "Shut up before a professor comes!"

Hermione froze before scoffing. "I should've known! Fucking hell, Harry!" She reached forward and yanked at the invisibility cloak, with a bit of his hair, and hid her smirk as Harry grunted in pain. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I went looking for you. I've been waiting ages." Harry grumbled, pulling his cloak from her while also rubbing at the top of his head. "You took forever in the dungeons."

She rolled her eyes then. "Spying on me and Draco now?"

Harry visibly cringed when she said the Slytherin's name, but when he met her steely glare he tried to smile and shrugged. "I've been wanting to talk to you since...well since right before curfew. And you didn't come up, so I had to look for you. Then I bumped into Dumbledore and waited for you, he said he'd send you, but Hagrid found me. Then not long after Hagrid left me on the stairs, I was looking on the map and saw you guys. Then I got to thinking and didn't realize Snape had left the room. So Snape came along and said he was giving me one warning to run up here before he served me a detention so I-"

"You're rambling, Harry." Hermione snapped impatiently while pinching the bridge of her nose. She had to remind herself that Dumbledore wanted her to make up with Harry before she spoke again, this time in a softer tone. "Sorry...What did you want to talk about?"

Harry shuffled his feet awkwardly, then muttered his reply. "Ron."

Hermione bit her tongue so as not to let a groan escape. "What about him?"

"He misses you. We both do." Harry sighed and reached out to grasp for her hand. She couldn't help but notice that his skin didn't cause hers to tingle like Draco's did. "He fucking _cried_ earlier that he just wanted to talk to you and fix us. We want _us_ back, Hermione. It's not right without you. It's always been the three of us..."

Hermione fought the stinging in her sinuses his words caused. Deep down, she did miss her friends...but they hurt her so much by ostracizing her these last six months. But should she care so much? Should she hold that against them when Dumbledore, and even the world, was depending on them three to come together and defeat Voldemort? There were bigger and more important things than her feelings being hurt by them...

"If...If we talk and work everything out and...and try to get along again...You have to accept Draco, too." Hermione whispered, hoping that if he agreed to this then telling them that Draco wasn't leaving her side on their mission wouldn't be too bad. He flinched and made a face when she said his name, causing her to sigh.

Maybe they didn't need to know he was her _boyfriend_...

"Why? Are you two -"

She cast a _Muffliato_ as he was speaking in case anyone was eavesdropping then hurried to cut him off. "Friends. He's my..." She hesitated for only a second before carrying on. "He's my best friend. He's been there for me and...I trust him. I can confide in him and know he won't turn on me. He's not like you think, Harry."

Harry was obviously hurt by the fact that he no longer held the title of her best friend, but it was his own fault. "I shouldn't blame you for...not thinking of me as your best friend anymore."

"No you shouldn't." Hermione sighed.

"It's my fault that we aren't close anymore."

Hermione could only nod. The apology she thought she should give never leaving her lips.

"Did you tell him about your...parents?" He whispered the last word, even with the privacy spell still in place.

"I told him more than I told you, if that's what you're trying to ask. I told you, Harry, he's my best friend and I confide in him." She didn't want to be mean, but she knew Harry so well that she knew what he was fishing for. He wanted to know how close she was to the Slytherin, if she told him the one thing that only he had known before their fight.

Harry looked like he'd just seen Hagrid snog Madame Maxime. "Right..."

She bit her lower lip nervously. "So. Will you accept him, too? I'm not abandoning him just because we're talking again."

"I still don't trust him...How do you know he won't turn on you and run right back to his father? Or that he isn't using you? Or that he won't use the information on... _them_...and use that against you to get to me?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Then she remembered how Draco had assured her that he was near her because he wanted to be when she had accused him of the exact same thing. "He would never do that. He swore to me. You're wrong about him, Harry. He's not bad. He hasn't hexed or cursed me. He hasn't sneered at me. He hasn't even said the M word, unlike the one who apparently cried for me not too long ago." She couldn't help but bring it up, it still stung.

"Ron didn't mean it like that. He meant that that's how they saw you for so long, he was trying to goad them or show that they're fake." Harry defended quietly.

Hermione scoffed. "Harry, don't make excuses for him. Just...Trust _me_ when I say that Draco isn't bad. Please?"

"Fine." Harry conceded, not wanting to push her away again when she seemed willing to talk to him and Ron. Besides, her judgement never steered him wrong before.

"Good. Thank you." She smiled gratefully. "Now, let's go in and talk to Ron because there's a lot I need to tell you."

"Does it have anything to do with the Order meeting that just took place?" Harry asked bluntly.

Hermione felt her stomach begin to churn again with nerves. "Yes. Now let's go."

* * *

Draco felt sick to his stomach as he paced through the common room and to his godfather's quarters.

He didn't know why he was so shocked. He had been naive to think that going to the Order meant that the Death Eaters would be kept at bay. Now, he had to lie again and tell them that they were right and the wards, that Dumbledore would lower before his death, died with the old headmaster.

He did have to figure a way to get the Death Eaters to the castle. He didn't know how to send a bloody patronus with a message like he'd seen his cousin send to Lupin. The only option he could think of was a bloody owl. He would have to send an owl to his aunt when the time came, that would buy the Order just a bit more time to prepare after losing their leader.

Then he had to figure out a way to disappear without Voldemort's followers trying to find him. He had an inkling that Dumbledore just got off on suggesting his students should do things that were near impossible.

Which brought his thoughts to the mission he was meant to go on with Hermione and her former friends.

He prayed that Hermione had some luck with her talk with the insufferable twin gits. A part of him wanted to smirk and laugh at the mental image of Weasel and Potter finding out that Hermione would be back in their little trio, but would be bringing him along. Oh, how he wished to Merlin that he could be there.

But then, his thoughts strayed to what could happen. The nightmare of someone Imperiusing him and forcing him to stab his witch and have her die in his arms had plagued him since the day they met in the toilets. He didn't know why he dreamt it so many times and he worried that this path he was going on now would lead him to that ending. What if someone tracked them down and, as punishment, forced him to kill her?

As he approached his godfather's door, he felt his initial unease double as he heard a number of voices from the other side. Before he could even raise his hand to knock, the door swung open and Snape's surly voice greeted him.

"Please join us, Draco."

By _us_ , his godfather meant his best friends that were just like him; forced to be part of Voldemort's team of prejudiced followers. And a lone witch that was gnawing on her nails and staring at him without her usual sneer.

"What is this?" Draco barely heard himself ask, his voice was just above a whisper.

Pansy stood and wiped at her wet cheeks before rushing to him and squeezing the life out of him. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Tell you what?" Draco asked uneasily as his arms automatically raised to hug her back. He frowned when he felt that she was shaking in his arms and he looked over to Blaise for answers.

Blaise was pacing in front of Snape's fireplace and crossed his arms. "That the whole lot of them were coming and Dumbledore had to die?"

"You told them?"

"Of course. They have to be evacuated and needed to know why." Snape shrugged. "I just finished explaining what was to come tomorrow and your part in it."

Daphne was sitting in front of their Head of House's desk and biting her middle fingernail while Theo stood beside her and kept a hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you say? That he lied when he said you purposefully got her killed?"

Draco had to strain to hear her, thanks to Pansy's sniffles, but frowned after processing her words. "You weren't in the mood to listen to what I had to say, really. But I blamed myself just the same."

"When you shouldn't. It was no one's fault but Voldemort's that Astoria was killed." Snape spoke firmly. "Now Daphne, what were you going to tell Draco?"

Daphne looked down towards her lap and frowned. "I'm sorry, Draco, for treating you so horribly when you're just as much a victim in this as my sister was."

Draco cringed slightly at being called a victim but nodded his appreciation when she looked up at him. Pansy was still shaking in his arms and Theo was staring at him with understanding.

"This is what you meant? All those weeks ago when your cousin popped in. I told you to get out." Theo grumbled with a shake of his head.

"It's not so easy." Draco sighed while Pansy pulled away. "Where are you sending them?"

Snape pursed his lips in thought for a moment before looking at each of his students and frowning. "There's a place that's under the Fidelius charm. After tomorrow night, the next wizard holding the secret will be able to tell them the location and take them there. We can do that while we wait for Bellatrix and the rest to arrive here after you send them an owl."

"We just disappear?" Theo asked while Pansy wiped at her wet cheeks with shaking fingers.

Blaise walked over to Pansy and Draco to wrap an arm around his girlfriend. When Snape nodded, Blaise shrugged as if he hadn't a care in the world. "It's not like my mother will care if I just disappear into thin air."

"My father will be devastated. He's already lost my mother." Pansy sniffled. "But I can't bring myself to feel sorry for him."

Daphne frowned. "My mother will go mad if I just disappear with no explanation. After Astoria, my father damn near hexed her for trying to stop me from returning. I can't just leave."

"I refuse to let any of you be in danger. There have been talks that each of you will be branded with the Dark Mark this summer and I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening." Snape spoke with a fierce protective tone; a tone he reserved only for the students of his House. "I'll do what I can about your parents, but you will all be going underground after tomorrow, so Merlin help me."

None of the teenagers could argue, none of them wanted the damning ink on their arms like many of their parents. They all had been forced by said parents to join in meetings and were offered up to their Dark Lord.

"What will you do if our parents ask you anything about us?" Draco asked as the others were too busy digesting everything.

"What I do best. Lie. We can fake a couple deaths where it's believable. I can even make up a kidnapping or two. Or, in Daphne's case, I can say she and Theo ran away, as that's more believable." Snape shrugged. "I'll handle whatever they throw at me."

Theo was the one left the most uneasy. Both of his parents were Death Eaters and he feared they'd search for him.

"Won't they try to track us?" Daphne spoke his thoughts and caused the others to shift uneasily.

"I'll be able to hide you all. They won't find you, I swear on my life." Snape promised. "Now you four try to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow. Act as normal as possible. I'll send you away after curfew. Draco and I need to discuss some things."

Daphne and Pansy both reached for their boyfriends' hands and Draco watched his friends file out of the room, looking haunted and worried. He wondered briefly if that was how he looked on his way here.

"What do you need help with?" Snape asked after the door was shut.

"You answered how I'd get everyone here. I had thought about it on my way here, an owl was the only thing that I could think of since the Vanishing Cabinet is still broken." Snape nodded along with him and waited as his godson mulled over his next question. After a few moments of shuffling on his feet, Draco paced to the chair Daphne had been in and plopped himself down. "How am I supposed to sneak away and leave with Hermione and the Gryffindorks without my father or Bellatrix looking for me specifically? The others will be protected by the Fidelius charm. What about me?"

"I have a charmed object you can have on you that will shield you if they or anyone else performs a tracking spell." Snape assured him with a small, warm smile. "I've already thought of your and Hermione's safety, Draco."

Draco grinned gratefully. "But I've never heard of a charm like that."

Snape smirked in an almost smug manner. "It's of my own creation."

"Oh." Draco muttered. _Of bloody course it is._ "And what about the others? Just in case the secret keeper betrays everyone. Could you shield all of us that way? And be absolutely positive they won't find them either?"

Snape nodded again. "Every single one of you will be undetectable."

Draco nodded slightly, his mind coming to one other worry that was plaguing him.

Snape watched his godson struggle to ask yet another question and frowned. "What else is there, Draco? You'll be needing to go and get some rest soon."

Draco frowned and squeezed his eyes shut before asking. "Do you remember I asked you to help me strengthen my shields? In case I get Imperiused?"

"Of course. Your shields are impeccable, Draco, you shouldn't worry about that."

"I can't help it." Draco stressed. "I've been...I've been having nightmares, well one nightmare really." He fought the nausea that he knew came with thinking of this horrible vision. "For months, I've dreamt that someone puts me under the Imperius and forces me to kill Hermione. It's like a warning, I think. Ever since that day she threw Weasley and Brown and we started...us...I've dreamt it."

Snape's concerned frown deepened the more his godson talked. "Perhaps it's just a fear of yours manifesting as a bad dream?" He suggested soothingly.

"No. I dreamt it the night before we met in the toilets, Severus. It was hard to remember at first, but once I had it again that night, I realized that's why I'd woken up crying...It's like a damn warning, it started right before I felt something for her. I swear, it feels like I'm some fucked up Seer. Every night now, I dream that she's dying in front of me, in my arms, and I can't stop myself from stabbing her again. I can't save her."

Snape was once again reminded of his past with his own muggleborn witch and put a hand to his chin with a mixture of thoughtfulness and worry. "Maybe...Maybe it is a warning then."

"You think it'll happen?" Draco asked with a terrified tremor in his voice.

"No. Not the way you see it, if you can help it." He reassured. "I'm going to tell you something that I've never told a soul before." He decided immediately that he was going to be completely honest with his godson and help him.

Draco nodded nervously and waited.

Snape mulled over his words for a split second before deciding that the beginning was the best place to start. "You and I are more alike than you know, my dear godson."

"How's that?" Draco asked curiously.

Snape let a rare smile grace his face and explained. "I loved a muggleborn witch once. Her name was Lily Evans, though I'm sure you know her as Lily Potter."

"Woah, really?! Potter's mum?!" Draco gasped.

"Draco, please allow me to speak with little interruptions."

He was amused to see his godson's ears turn a shade of red and after a few seconds of silence, he carried on. "Yes, Potter's mother. I met her when we were ten years old. She was...She was my best and only friend." He couldn't help the soft smile that always came with the memories of his lost witch. "We were inseparable, really. I'd sneak away from my parents fairly often to meet her in a neighborhood park before we came here to Hogwarts. I was heartbroken when she was sorted into Gryffindor, I was absolutely convinced she'd at least be put in Ravenclaw." That made his godson chuckle. "But we still met up in the library and sat near each other during classes. We both really hated Potter and his friends, they'd harass me every day for breathing, it seemed.

"At times, she'd scold them far louder and longer for hexing me than she ever scolded me. We had begun to get closer in the start of our fifth year and shared a few kisses on Hogsmeade trips." He stopped as his godson made a show of gagging.

"I don't want to hear about that, Severus, please!"

Snape actually laughed at that. "My hand wasn't wandering up her skirt like you and Hermione, Draco, it was just kissing."

Draco blushed then, "My hand wasn't up her skirt! We were kissing and Blaise was being a nosy prick-"

"And interrupted you before you could." Snape shook his head. "Remind me to teach you the Contraceptive Charm before you leave tomorrow."

"Severus! Alright! Enough! Back to your story!" By this point, Draco was as red as a lobster.

Snape laughed again and shook his head. "But I ruined it all when we were fifteen. I called her that blasted M word, after James bloody Potter embarrassed me. It was no excuse and I hated myself the moment the word left my lips. I saw her opinion of me change in an instant, her eyes morphed right before me. I apologized profusely but it was no use, I'd lost her." He sounded incredibly sad and Draco wondered just what to say before his godfather shook his head and carried on.

"I let her be, respected the fact that she wanted nothing more to do with me, and got closer to those you now know as Death Eaters. They promised me power where I had none, brotherhood where I was lonely, and I ate it all up. They never spoke to me about killing any muggleborns or Muggles, either because the whole school knew how close I was to Lily or because they didn't know we were supposed to do that either. It was just learning defensive curses, looking back now they were all offensive and lethal. Merlin, if they knew that I was a half-blood, I doubt that they would've accepted me at all. I kept my blood status a secret and Lily never exposed me either.

"When I was about eighteen, I kept having nightmares that she was targeted by Voldemort himself and was killed. It started as nothing but being in the moment that I received news that she'd died. Then it came with more horrifying detail as time went on, I saw him break in and kill Potter then go to her. One time, it was so horrific as I watched her beg for their lives. I chalked it up to fears I had that corresponded with my first revels as a full fledged Death Eater...The things I witnessed were traumatizing, to say the very least."

Draco flinched and was immensely grateful that his godfather was doing everything he could to shield him from that. Then he sensed where he was going with this and didn't like it one bit.

"Coincidentally, or perhaps not so now that I look at it, I started having those nightmares the day before she married James Potter. The very day before. Do you see what I'm getting at?" Snape asked and Draco couldn't miss the pain in his godfather's eyes. "Do you see the similarities?"

"You started to see it happen before she went on the path that led her there...Which was marry Potter's dad, get pregnant, and make her a target..." Draco surmised with a feeling of dread spreading through him. "Just like I did with Hermione. Our paths crossed that day and set her on the path of being killed by my own hand. All because she sat with me and we talked..."

"Yes...But the difference is, Draco, I ignored it. I didn't believe that it could happen, I told myself it was just irrational fears." Snape stressed. "You aren't. You're sitting here telling me. You already strengthened your shields so you won't be used to harm her. We can stop it before it happens."

Draco shook his head. "But what if it does happen? What if we're destined to end up like you and Lily? We're nearly the same damn ages."

"I won't allow it. I refuse for you to end up bitter and alone like me, and I absolutely refuse for Hermione to end up dead and gone like Lily. That won't be your future." Snape vowed. "You can't think like that either."

"You just said we're more alike than I realized." Draco argued stubbornly.

"Perhaps my losing Lily had to happen, no matter what warning I got, because Harry had to be born to defeat The Dark Lord now." He sighed then. "Or it's more...romantic than that and I saw it before it happened because I truly loved her, much the same way you love Hermione. Only this time, perhaps you two are meant to live the life Lily and I couldn't."

Draco was silent for a handful of seconds before he sighed. "What do I do? I can't let it happen, Severus...I know it's only been six months, but I love her. I'm in love with her and I can't lose her."

Those whispered words that Snape had uttered himself years ago stabbed him in the heart. His godson was scared and in love just as he was. And he was looking to him for help.

So Merlin help him, he was going to protect these two the way Dumbledore failed him and Lily.

"You won't. Have faith that you won't. Set up plan upon plan with her. Teach her self defense in case you do get captured. The way you taught Pansy. That way she can fight you off without a wand if it comes to it." Draco flinched at the very thought. "Keep practicing your shields and have her practice as well. You already can break through an Imperius after a few minutes of fighting it. Keep at it until you can barely feel it."

Draco nodded, he'd already been doing that every morning and night.

"And think up some safe words. In the event that you're being chased but can't get close enough to side-along, shout a word that is code for a location and go." Snape carried on, wanting all their bases covered. "Confide in her, as well. Tell her of this nightmare. If anyone knows anything about prophetic dreams, it would be her."

"She hates prophetic anything." Draco reminded him. "But I will...It shouldn't be too hard for her to learn self defense, I know from experience that her punches are swift and painful. And I'm sure she'd grasp Occlumency well enough, she's already been practicing dueling with Tonks and Remus." He paused and watched his godfather stare at him with emotion in his normally empty eyes. "What?"

"This nightmare of yours and talking like this is forcing me to realize how dangerous this is for you all. And come tomorrow evening, I won't be there to protect you." He explained with a troubled look. Snape bit his lip uncharacteristically for a moment before he sighed and clasped his hands together on his desk. "Please be safe, Draco. Wherever you, Hermione, and her friends go, be safe. Please..."

Draco realized then that his godfather, the only father he'd truly ever known, was scared...worried for him even.

Fear and worry. That's what was shining in his eyes.

He fought the emotion building in his chest and nodded. "I will be, Severus, I promise. You taught me well, both here and at home." He assured him.

"You damn well better be careful and remember everything I've taught you over the years. Every defensive spell, every concealment charm, every _healing_ spell. I don't want to help win this war to better this world and survive if you're not there to live in it. Do you understand me?" Snape's voice shook minutely and he barely cared.

If he were to lose Draco, he'd turn his wand on himself, he was sure of it. Draco was the one person he breathed for now, he was the only person alive that needed him really, and he needed him too.

This boy sitting in front of him was the son he wished he'd had. He truly loved him like Lucius should have done. And he needed him to understand that before he went off on Dumbledore's outlandish and dangerous mission.

Draco spoke with his own shaking voice before he stood and walked out the door.

"I love you, too, Severus."

* * *

Hermione froze as she realized it was Ron curled up on the armchair beside the fireplace. He was awake still and his red, watery eyes told her that he'd been crying.

Perhaps Draco was right when he said that she'd broken his heart.

She waited uncomfortably for Harry to walk into the room and close the portrait door before she spoke up quietly. "Ron?"

The redhead jumped like a fish out of water, obviously having been lost in his thoughts, and turned to stare at her. She squirmed under his intense gaze while Harry placed a hand against her back to lead her to the small sofa nearest Ron.

Harry rubbed his palms against his pant legs before sitting beside Hermione and cleared his throat. "Ron...You wanna lead this?"

Hermione felt more and more awkward the longer the seconds ticked by. She sat down and crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap as Ron sat up a bit straighter and moved his chair so he was in front of them. "Where have you been? You haven't been here since...since I saw you before dinner. You didn't even go down for it."

"I was with Draco." Hermione shrugged and frowned when he flinched and Harry sighed. "But I'll tell you more about that once you're done..."

"Right..." Ron scratched at his forearm nervously before he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

Hermione worked to hide her shock from showing as she nodded slowly. "For..." She prompted, she would admit that she missed him and was happy that he was about to make it easier to go on Dumbledore's mission...but she wasn't going to let him off the hook easily.

Ron grinned a little and carried on. "Hermione, I'm sorry for everything I said six months ago and every single thing I've said since." He looked like he wanted to reach out and grasp her hand. "I've missed you so much. I was angry because it was like you were going off with the Slytherins so I said the M word, not because I was calling you that but because the Slytherins always did- I know! I know! Just let me say it all!"

Hermione had opened her mouth to defend her friends but shut her mouth again and let him carry on. Ron and Harry both noted that her hard stare was reminiscent of Malfoy, she was very cold and calculated.

"I realized soon after that they didn't actually like that word anymore, Parkinson can cast one hell of a hex...Anyways...So...I was angry you were with them, but I know I didn't make it easy for you to be around us. I know that. And today, I realized that I lost you. When I saw you two together in Charms class, I said some stuff."

"I heard you." Hermione interrupted.

He blushed and nodded. "Right...I'm sorry for that, too. I was just angry and I know I only have myself to blame. I wanted to blame Malfoy or Lavender, but it was all me. I've been thinking about it all and I was a fool to listen to a thing Lavender said."

"Lavender?" Hermione questioned, her Malfoy-esque mask cracking slowly.

Harry, having heard this rant while waiting for Hermione to return to the tower, leaned back and wanted to thank Merlin that they were all sitting together and talking again.

"Lavender told me so many things about you and how you treated me, things that she said I didn't notice. That you mocked me and said I was stupid all the time."

"I did not!" Her mask slipped off and now her outrage was on full display.

Ron sighed, "That or that you wanted to boss me and Harry around all the time. That you liked controlling me because I was spineless."

"That vile witch is full of lies!" Hermione snapped. Now it suddenly made sense why Ron had snapped at her seemingly out of the blue all those months ago. "I never once thought of you as spineless or even stupid. You're not any of that, lazy maybe when it comes to studying, but definitely not any of that. How dare she!"

"I told him it was because she was jealous of you. That she must've sensed something between you two and felt threatened so she alienated you." Harry explained his theory. "I didn't help matters by going right along with it like her little puppet. I'm sorry, too, Hermione."

Heat suddenly flooded her cheeks at Harry's comment and shook her head. "There was nothing between us. You two were my best friends...I never wanted to be some slag or anything. Or in her kind words, a whore."

"She called you that?" Ron questioned.

She nodded and shrugged. "It was today at breakfast. I sat down and we were all talking then she came up and said my little plan to make you leave her wasn't working. That my being a whore with Draco wasn't going to sway you, basically. We all mocked her, Draco threatened that I'd send her into another table and she left. I'm sorry about that, too...I didn't mean to hurt you, Ron."

"It's okay. I deserved it." He sighed before shaking his head. "I think she broke up with me this morning. I wasn't listening to her yap about something and she just got her stuff and left."

"Definitely was a dumping." Harry quipped.

"Anyways, she's out of the picture now." He said it in such a way that made her feel uncomfortable again but she forced herself to nod at the information.

She had to remind herself that she wasn't going to tell them of her and Draco's relationship. Not yet anyways. "I'm sorry but I'm glad. She was absolutely horrible."

Ron smiled. "Do you forgive me?"

"Of course. I wish it didn't take so bloody long, but yes I do." She grinned.

"Great..." Ron looked like a first year being sorted with that smile of his. "And like I told Harry...I...I love you, more than you know, and I wanted so much for us. I have since fourth year...I'm so happy we're back on track."

Hermione's eyes went wide as saucers at his declaration, but she still shook her head. "I forgive you, Ron...but...back on track is not the term I'd use..."

Ron looked to Harry for a quick second as his face fell. "What term would you use?"

"It'll take some time for me to...to get back to the way we were. I mean to say, that we're friends again but...not best friends again. Does that make sense? It'll be a while for me to get back there..."

Harry sat up then, "Is it because you're closer to Malfoy and Parkinson now?"

Hermione blushed. "And Blaise and Theo. I'm not too sure about Daphne. I haven't interacted with her as much, the poor thing..."

"Why are you so close with them?" Ron asked, trying to sound unaffected.

Hermione smiled, "They were there for me from six months ago to now. They're really not what you think they are. None of them." She insisted while her childhood friends looked doubtful. "Theo has the biggest heart and he's so protective of Daphne. And Blaise treats Pansy like a queen and he's funny. He really truly reminds me of Fred and George. Pansy is immensely kind, she's the type of friend everyone should have. And Draco...he's..."

She cleared her throat and kept reminding herself to act like they were only friends. "He listens and he's there when Pansy or I are upset or excited about something. He's let me cry on his shoulder more times than I can count. And he's witty and caring. And he's so strong. Everything his damn father has put him through..."

Ron felt his heart grow heavier the more she spoke of him. "Are you two together now?"

"N-No! No! Like I told Harry, he's become my best friend. Since that day, he's been there..." Hermione forced her voice not to shake through her lying and she watched the boys share a glance but ultimately accept her words.

"Now...we're all done apologizing and forgiving right?" Harry asked to break the awkward silence and grinned when they both nodded. "Brilliant. Now Hermione, tell us what happened today at the-"

She smacked him hard in the stomach while raising her wand to cast a _Muffliato_. "Honestly! When has it ever been okay to talk freely about that?!"

"What's happened?" Ron asked in confusion.

Hermione sighed and looked around the seemingly empty room. "I have to go to Tonks and Remus' room before I go to bed, so we can discuss questions and go in depth when I get back, if you're still up. But follow me."

She jumped up and made her way out of the common room.

Ron and Harry followed her out of the room and to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

"What's with the one sofa?" Harry asked as he looked around the large, but nearly empty, room.

Hermione turned away so they wouldn't see her blush. "It's where Draco and I study sometimes. It's quieter than the library." _More like it's more private..._ Hermione thought, remembering when Ginny nearly caught her and Draco snogging by the Restricted Section.

Ron stared at her for a few seconds, but Harry gave him a warning look before he could say anything. Ron kept thinking of everything that Harry had told him and kept reminding himself that if Hermione was lying and she was in fact with Malfoy, it was none of his business. And he had no one to blame but himself.

"Okay, we're here..." Harry started impatiently and suddenly, a small cart with three mugs of butterbeer appeared. "I love this room." He sighed as he went to get his drink.

Hermione closed her eyes and three chairs popped up in a mock circle. She grabbed her own mug before taking a seat. The boys looked over at the sofa in confusion but took their seats anyway. They had no idea that Hermione and Draco did quite a bit of snogging on that sofa and she'd rather they not sit there.

"So, I was at an Order meeting earlier."

"Why weren't we invited?" Harry asked, sounding slightly offended. "We're involved just as much as you are."

Ron took a sip of his butterbeer and scoffed. "It's because you're older than us, isn't it? Damn, September babies."

"Ha ha. No, it's because it was for a new member. I, technically, recruited someone." She smiled.

"Who?" The pair questioned.

"Draco." Hermione promptly rolled her eyes when both boys gasped. "Honestly, it's not that big of a surprise."

Harry shook his head. "To you, maybe. Remember how we all thought he was a Death Eater six months ago?"

"You and Ron did. I didn't." Hermione reminded them. "Anyways, he has officially been inducted into the Order, Dumbledore accepted him."

Ron looked skeptical. "And you're sure you can trust him? I've...Well, I've been having these gut feelings that he's been getting close to you to get to Harry and Dumbledore."

"He's not. He swore to me in this very room that we're friends because of us, it wasn't some order by Voldemort. Please, believe me when I say that he's very much on our side."

Harry sighed but nodded. "If Dumbledore trusts him..."

Ron shrugged his acceptance, though his face was scrunched up like he'd sucked a lemon.

Hermione smiled gratefully then carried on. "Good...He went to the Order with a ton of information. Tomorrow...Tomorrow, a lot is going to change. I can't even believe most of it, but...Draco was ordered to kill Dumbledore and let Death Eaters infiltrate Hogwarts."

"So he was a Death Eater?" Harry asked with a curl of his upper lip.

"No!" Hermione shouted before she took a large gulp of her butterbeer and suddenly wished that it was spiked. "He doesn't have the Mark! He went to the Order for help! He was sick at the thought of having to kill and that's why he officially joined the Order. Look, I'll explain how he has been forced this whole time later! He can tell you himself! But, right now I need to tell you about Dumbledore's plan."

"Plan for what?!"

Hermione teared up again as she spoke. "He's planning to die tomorrow, like Voldemort wanted. Then, his death will allow the Death Eaters to come here and take over. Snape is then going to be Headmaster so the Order will still have some control without the Dark knowing."

Harry suddenly stood to start pacing with his hands running through his hair. "Who's going to kill him?!"

Ron stared at nothing as his hands balled into fists. "Why the hell would he want to die?"

"Snape. He's not happy about it at all. But it was either Draco or Snape that can do it. From what they said, there was an Unbreakable Vow made. And Dumbledore said that he was dying anyway, from a curse of Voldemort's. Snape isolated it to his hand but it's bound to spread by this time next year. I should really ask him about how to isolate a volatile curse like that before we leave, it may come in handy."

Ron was sputtering at all the information and shook his head. "Leave to go where?!"

Hermione blushed then. "Right...that...We're supposed to leave tomorrow night. Once Dumbledore dies and the Death Eaters get in, we're supposed to all disappear. Tonks and Remus are going into hiding, the muggleborn students are also being evacuated. Snape also said he was evacuating some of his students, I'm assuming they're also kids with Death Eater parents like Draco."

"Hermione you're saying a whole lot and I understand none of it!" Ron snapped and also stood to walk to a newly conjured bottle of firewhisky, she watched him open it and start gulping and contemplated asking for a drink.

"So, we're to go into hiding?" Harry asked, his fists now balled up tight. He planned to march straight to Dumbledore's office once Hermione let them leave this room. What Hermione was saying made absolutely no sense and he wanted to hear it all from Dumbledore himself.

"Yes and no...See, we're meant to go on a special mission." Hermione watched as Harry and Ron stared at her intently. "Us and...Draco...Dumbledore has a special mission for the four of us to do that will take Voldemort down and we leave for it tomorrow evening."

"It's up to _us_?!" Harry shouted.

"Malfoy is coming with us?!" Ron shouted even louder.

 _Bloody fucking hell._

* * *

It was close to one in the morning when Hermione finally made it to her bed.

She'd told the boys that it was all Dumbledore's idea to send the four of them on a hunt for parts of Voldemort's soul, and they believed her.

Of course, Ron had asked what Draco had done for Dumbledore to believe him worthy of going on such a mission. She'd told him that she and Draco were the top of their year, they were equally smart and more than enough to figure out where they'd be hidden. She added that it was their newfound friendship that made Dumbledore think he'd be a good asset to their group.

Total bullshit, but they ate it up. They had no reason to believe that what she was saying was anything but the truth.

Once they'd finished talking, Hermione told them that she had to go see Remus and Tonks. _That_ had been an interesting conversation.

 _"What the fuck do you mean he wants you to search for Horcruxes?!" Tonks screeched while Remus shook his head with disgust._

 _"That's what he said. That Harry already destroyed on in our second year, that another was destroyed by him. And that he and Harry were going to attempt to retrieve one tomorrow evening, before his timed death. That it'd be up to us to find the other three." She explained again._

 _Remus scoffed. "He's really putting all this on four teenagers?! You're all practically children still! He can't seriously expect you four to find them and destroy them when he barely found and destroyed one!"_

 _"Exactly! No! We aren't going to let you guys go alone." Tonks said with finality. "We're going with you."_

 _Hermione watched in both gratitude and horror as Remus nodded. "You can't. What if you're needed here?!"_

 _"We're needed with you. We were told to go into hiding and we are. With you." Tonks shrugged._

 _Remus grimaced but shook his head. "Dumbledore had mentioned me talking to werewolf packs and securing their loyalties but I'd much rather follow you all. Those people tend to stay alone and secluded and I don't want to involve them in a war that isn't theirs. You, Harry, Ron, and Draco are far more important."_

 _Hermione sighed and crossed her arms. "There's nothing I can say that will change your minds?"_

 _"Nope. You heard Dumbledore. We're Draco's cousins, we're his family. And we're also yours." Remus smiled at her and Tonks nodded her agreement. "Families stick together."_

 _"If you're snogging my cousin, you're technically my cousin, too." Tonks said with a wink._

She'd been touched but also worried for them. It wasn't enough that she had to worry about Harry and Ron getting along with Draco while also keeping all three of them safe, she also had to worry about her two older friends.

Then there was extra worrying to be done where Draco was concerned. He was defying both his father and Voldemort. A target was sure to be on his back come tomorrow evening.

This worrying was going to drive her mad.

She was sure of it as she now laid in bed, tossing and turning. She drifted in and out of sleep with nightmares plaguing her and making her sit up and gasp for air.

Many of her nightmares were of Draco. Either he'd be dragged away by Death Eaters while she failed her duels or he was hit with a killing curse that was meant for her.

So many terrifying scenarios kept running through her head. But just as a peaceful sleep finally claimed her, just before four in the morning, a hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her awake again.

"What?" She grumbled as she sat up. Turning to look at who had disturbed her, she smiled when she saw that it was Draco.

"Hey. Sorry I woke you..." Draco then smirked and shook his head. "Well, not really. I wanted to spend some time with you tonight."

Hermione's heart fluttered like it always did now and she pushed her covers away. "But we need our rest for tomorrow, Draco. It's a huge day and we can't be up late snogging or talking until dawn. How did you even get up here? I know I gave you the password but boys aren't allowed in our dorms."

For a moment, she could've sworn anger flashed in his eyes but before she could really make sense of it, the glint was gone. "The charms to keep boys out of here are weak. I cracked them in fourth year. And I know about tomorrow, but please, just come with me?"

Hermione nibbled her lower lip for a moment before she huffed and climbed out of bed."Fine, but we can't be out for more than an hour!"

"Fine, fine." He reached out for her hand and when he grasped it, Hermione didn't feel the familiar spark that always came with his touch. A chill ran down her spine in its place.

She wondered about it for no longer than five seconds before he began to pull her out of her dorm and down the staircase.

Her exhausted mind didn't notice the red flags popping up as he glanced around the room before running with her to the portrait door.

If she'd actually rested for the few hours she was in bed, she would've put the clues together faster and realized what was happening.

Once they were in the hallway leading down to the rest of the castle, Hermione gasped as Draco's grip became as tight as a vice and he turned to push her into an alcove.

When he looked into her eyes, she tried to pry her hand away as the earlier anger resurfaced. "Draco, what the hell are you doing?"

Instead of answering, he raised his free hand and punched her swiftly in her gut just as his features began to bubble and morph.

She choked on the air that was being knocked out of her and bent over in an attempt to catch her breath. She looked out and down the hallway and prayed someone would come to help.

She didn't even have her wand!

And it wasn't Draco. Whoever this was had tricked her and she fell right for it. The bubbling quickly told her that someone had used polyjuice and impersonated Draco. But for what?

For a panicked second, she guessed it was Lucius and her hands began to try and push her assailant away. But she was weak from that damned punch.

That was when she saw the other two people approaching. The green robes covering the burly boys made her heart rate quicken with adrenaline.

 _This was not good._

Crabbe and Goyle.

"I was supposed to get the first hit!" Goyle complained as Hermione coughed and tried to stand up straight, still trying to push the imposter away.

"No, I was!" Crabbe snapped.

The impersonator gripped Hermione by her hair and pulled her up so they could be face to face. "Both of you shut up!" They snapped and Draco's features melted away.

"You really think you'd be with him and get away with it?" The imposter growled and slammed Hermione's head back into the alcove wall.

Hermione cried out and again tried to push the imposter's hands away. But suddenly Crabbe and Goyle descended on her and all she felt was pain.

Pain and anger as she registered the imposter's true face.

Through punches, kicks, and scratches. She saw who had tricked her and led her to this ambush.

 _Fucking Lavender Brown_

* * *

 **I am so sorry this took so long! But I'm so excited for this drama to reallllly start!**

 **I'm also sorry for any errors you find! I've edited but I always tend to miss one or two typos**

 ** _Playlist:_**

 ** _Weight of the World - Evanescence_**

 ** _In the End - Linkin Park_**


End file.
